Life Ain't Always Beautiful
by Birdieq
Summary: Sequel to Don't Want To Need You. The Montgomery-Sloan family adjusts to life in Seattle, Emme continues to build a relationship with Derek, Cecilia recovers from surgery, and Derek and Meredith await the arrival of their second child.
1. Chapter 1

**Here we are, back in the Don't Want to Need You universe. We pick things up a bit over a month after the DWTNY epilogue; if you haven't read that yet you should, or you'll probably be pretty confused.**

Addison glances up from her medical journal when she hears a knock on the door. "Hey."

"Hey. How's my favorite patient?" Derek nods towards Cecilia, sleeping soundly on the hospital bed in her little pink Nike running shorts and t-shirt, clutching her well-loved rag doll and surrounded by a pink bunny from Addison and Mark, a dog from Derek and Meredith, and a baby doll from Carolyn - all get-well gifts from her surgery just over two weeks ago.

"Miserable, ever since that stupid nurse said something about going home this morning. She literally cried through the entire two hours of PT this morning. She kept yelling "I don't like it!" and "I'm not doing it!" and "I'm going home!" Which should have been super annoying, but she was doing everything the therapist told her to do while she was yelling that she wasn't doing it, so it was actually pretty hilarious. But also sad because she really thought she was going home today."

Derek laughs. "Yeah, I heard about that. But by this time tomorrow she'll be home, so hang in there."

"Thank God. I miss my babies!" Addison whines. "And I miss my sweet little Cece. She's been so...temperamental. Which is understandable, considering that in less than six months I've given birth to twins, we moved cross country, and she had major surgery, but it's draining. And she's so frustrated. She was starting to use the crutches before surgery, and now she's back to the walker - and struggling with it - and she's just...miserable."

Derek moves behind Addison and starts massaging her tense shoulders. "The surgery revealed the underlying weakness that the spasticity covered up. You knew that was going to happen. It's going to take time to get her back where she was, but before you know it she'll be better than ever. I've talked to her therapists. She's highly motivated and is working hard in therapy. I know it's hard for you to see all the little improvements she's making when you're with her all day, every day but she's already come such a long way since her surgery and she's only going to get better. If I was a betting man, I'd say she'll be walking independently by Christmas. And it's going to affect so many other things besides walking."

"Yeah, I'm _really_ hoping it helps with toilet training-"

"It should, in the long run, but I wouldn't worry about it too much right now when there's so much going on. Toilet training just takes longer for kids with CP, generally speaking, and a kid like her being in diapers at three and a half really isn't unusual. Like everything else, it'll come in time."

"I know, it's just...four kids - five, if you count the fact that Emme's been wetting the bed again ever since the move - in diapers? It's insane! We should buy stock in Pampers…"

"If it's any consolation, Riley has decided she wants absolutely nothing to do with the potty. Maybe we can ship them off to potty training boot camp together."

"Hey, potty training is hard when there's a new baby on the way. But honestly, I thought if anyone could get that girl potty trained it would be your mother. And speaking of your mother, that woman has been a godsend. I still can't believe the nanny just quit after less than a month! And I feel horrible that she's been watching my kids all week, because she came out here to help you and Meredith, but I don't know what we'd have done without her."

"Don't feel too bad. It's not like there's much for her to do since Brendan has apparently decided he's never leaving the womb…"

"Oh, relax! Meredith is just forty weeks now, right?"

"Forty weeks tomorrow," Derek confirms with a nod.

"Okay, I know everyone fixates on that forty weeks, but really anything between thirty-eight and forty-two weeks is perfectly normal. You could be waiting another two weeks."

"God, I hope not! For my sake _and_ Meredith's. But tomorrow's her last day of work, so at least she can take it easy. I wish she would have gone on maternity leave weeks ago."

"Can't say I blame her, though. It's already tough having a baby during residency, but with all the time she took off when Riley was sick…"

"Yeah, I know. I just hate watching her struggle. Anyways, I gotta get back to work."

Addison checks the time. "And I better wake Miss Grumpy Pants up for afternoon PT. Pray for my sanity."

"I will," Derek says with a laugh before leaving.

Addison gets up reluctantly. "Cece, time to wake up," she coos as she shakes the girl gently. "Come on, wake up sleepy head."

"No! I'm sleepin'" Cecilia screws her eyes shut and rolls over, away from her mother.

Addison can't even get upset, because just two weeks ago even something as simple as rolling over had been nearly impossible for the three-year-old. "You're not sleeping. Let's get you changed and then it's time for therapy."

Cecilia rolls back over and, with a bit of difficulty, sits up. "I don't wanna," she whines as she holds her arms up to be held.

Addison sighs and picks her up for a quick snuggle. "You don't want to what?"

"Get changed."

"Well, you can't go to PT with a wet diaper, so too bad."

"I'm not goin' to PT."

"Oh, yes you are," Addison insists as she lays Cecilia back down on the bed.

"No I'm not! I'm not doin' it."

The argument continues as Addison gets Cecilia changed, then tugs up her knee socks - gray, with raccoon faces at the knees - and puts her AFOs and sneakers on. "Okay! All ready to go." She sets the girl in front of her walker.

"I'm not goin' to PT!" Cecilia howls defiantly as she takes off down the hall in the direction of the PT clinic.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever you say, mouthy…"

…..

Mark walks through the door and finds Emme setting the table while Carolyn stirs a pot of sauce on the stove. Everett is balanced on one hip, and Georgia is in her exersaucer in one corner; Annie and Riley are giggling as they play with Riley's Sesame Street figurines on the floor. "Come here, little man!" he says as he reaches for his blond-haired son before leaning in to kiss Carolyn on the cheek. "That smells amazing. I don't know how you do it!" he tells her as he looks around at the spotless kitchen. "These hooligans didn't drive you crazy, did they?"

"Of course not! They're little angels, every one of them." Carolyn sets down her spoon and unties her apron. "Now, the sauce is done. All you have to do is cook the pasta. The water is already boiling for that. Come on, Riley. Get your shoes."

"I don't wanna go!"

"Riley, no whining. You'll see your cousins again tomorrow morning."

"You know, you could stay for dinner, after you went to all this trouble," Mark suggests, eyeing the tossed salad and garlic bread waiting on the table.

"I'd love to, but Derek just called. They'll be home any time now."

"If you say so. And thank you, for everything. You're a real lifesaver."

Carolyn shrugs and pats Mark's cheek adoringly before picking Riley up. "That's what family is for. Riley, say goodbye to Uncle Mark."

"Bye Uncle Markie!" Riley says with a wave as they head out the door.

With Carolyn and Riley gone Mark dumps a box of spaghetti into the boiling water and turns to Emme. "What are you pouting about? Didn't you have fun with grandma today?" he asks as he tweaks her nose.

"No! She never wants to do anything with me."

"That's not true. I'm sure she'd love to play with you, but the babies keep her busy, that's all."

"But she's not even their grandma-"

"Yes she is."

"Nuh uh! She's my dad's mom, not _your_ mom, so that means she's _my_ grandma. Not theirs."

"Well, I spent a lot of time at your dad's house when I was a kid. She was like a mom to me, so she is their grandma too. Now, help Annie wash her hands, and dinner will be ready."

"Why do I gotta do everything? I set the table, I helped grandma fold laundry, I picked up all the toys Annie and Riley got out...I don't wanna do anything else!" Emme complains.

"And I worked all day to put a roof over your head and food on the table so quit whining and do what I told you to do!" Mark snaps. He's not proud of his reaction, but after two and a half weeks of juggling work and the kids while Addison stays at the hospital with Cecilia, he's running low on patience.

Emme scowls. "Fine! Annie, come on," she growls before grabbing the toddler none too gently by the hand and dragging her to the bathroom.

"And be nice!" Mark adds as Emme stomps down the hall. He hears her drag the step stool over to the sink; seconds later Annie is howling that the water is too hot, so he quickly gets Everett in his high chair and hurries off to rescue his middle child.

…..

Derek and Meredith pull into the driveway at the same time that Carolyn and Riley are getting home from the Sloan house. "There's my girl!" Derek says happily as he frees Riley from her car seat. "Did you have fun today?"

Riley nods enthusiastically. "Annie was bad!" she announces gleefully, omitting the fact that she went along with most of Annie's misdeeds.

"Well, that's nothing new," Derek chuckles.

"She's not _bad_. She's just a baby, she doesn't know any better," Carolyn corrects; it's no secret that she has a soft spot for the mischievous toddler. "She may look like her mother but let me tell you, that girl is all Mark!" she adds as she grabs her purse and they all head inside.

"You must be exhausted," Meredith says as she drops to a chair in the kitchen, while Carolyn makes a beeline for the fridge. "Don't worry about dinner. We'll order pizza."

"Nonsense! My granddaughter deserves a good home-cooked meal. And anyways, Annie may have kept me on my toes - with a bit of help from this one, don't let that innocent face fool you - but really, it's not bad. The twins are no trouble at all. Everett just wants to be held all the time, and Georgia is the most easy-going baby. And Emme's such a big help," Carolyn rambles on as she starts pulling out ingredients for a chicken pot pie. Naturally she'd wanted to meet Emme as soon as she'd found out about her; she was immediately smitten with not only her granddaughter, but the Sloan children who might as well have been her own grandchildren. "Now, you go out your feet up. And you," she looks up from the carrots she's chopping and pauses to point at Derek, "go give Riley a bath. By the time she's in her jammies, dinner will be ready."

 **If any of you are curious about Cecilia's surgery, there is a 5-part series on YouTube that explains it, and the rehab after. Search "Selective Dorsal Rhizotomy at Seattle Children's Hospital - Part 1 of 5.**

 **As always, reviews motivate me! Let me know what you think, and don't forget to leave suggestions for my series of one-shots, These Little Moments!**


	2. Chapter 2

"Okay, so how about we make one more surprise for Cece?" Carolyn suggests the next day, as soon as Everett and Georgia are down for their morning nap.

"What kind of surprise?" Emme asks as she, Annie, and Riley follow their grandmother to the kitchen.

Carolyn scoops Annie up and straps her into the high chair. "Well, these bananas need to get used up. Why don't we make some muffins?"

"Ooo, with chocolate chips? Those are Cece's favorite!" Emme says while Riley jumps up and down.

"I wanna make muffins!"

"I thought you might," Carolyn says as she retrieves two child-sized aprons from the pantry. While Emme puts hers on and helps Riley with the other one, Carolyn starts gathering ingredients. "First we have to squish these bananas," she informs the girls once they're seated at the kitchen island.

"I wanna do it!" Emme says, reaching for the masher.

Riley tries to grab it from her. "No, me!"

"I said it first!"

"No, I do it!" When Riley can't reach the masher, she instead grabs a lock of long, dark hair, resulting in an ear-splitting shriek from Emme.

Emme manages to clobber Riley on the head with the masher before Carolyn steps between them. "Okay, you go sit in time out," Carolyn orders as she takes the utensil and picks up her crying granddaughter.

"But she started it!"

Carolyn points to the stool in the corner. "And you're older. You know better. Now go."

"But it's not fair! She knows better, too!"

"Emmeline Shepherd, if you want to help us bake I suggest you get your hiney on that stool and get it over with."

"But she didn't even get in trouble!" Emme argues as she stomps over to the stool.

Carolyn sets the kitchen timer for five minutes. "You worry about you. I'll worry about Riley." She sets Riley back on her stool and hands her the masher. "Any more hair-pulling and you'll be in time-out too," she warns, though her voice is gentle and non-threatening; she just can't bring herself to discipline the toddler after everything she's been through.

By the time the timer goes off the bananas are mashed and Riley is gleefully measuring out cups of flour under Carolyn's watchful eye while Annie bangs wildly on the high chair tray with a wooden spoon. "You can do the sugar next," Carolyn assures Emme. "But any more arguing from either of you and you'll both go in time out and I'll finish these muffins myself!"

The girls get along peacefully, taking turns measuring out ingredients and adding them to the bowl, until they get to the final item - chocolate chips. Riley reaches for the bag, even though it's Emme's turn. "I do it!" she squeals enthusiastically, hoping to swipe a few of the morsels for herself.

"It's _my_ turn," Emme points out calmly, not wanting to go back in time out.

Riley persists. "No, my turn! I do it!"

"You just had your turn, pumpkin. It's Emme's turn. But you can help grandma put these in the pans." Carolyn tries to distract Riley with a package of rainbow-striped cupcake papers.

"No, I do that!" Riley insists, getting louder with every word. Clearly nothing is going to deter her.

Carolyn looks at her older granddaughter. "Emme-"

"No! It's _my_ turn. She should be in time out for arguing," Emme points out.

"Emme, please?"

Emme hops down from her stool. "How come you always like the babies better than me?" she asks as she takes her apron off and throws it on the floor. She doesn't wait for an answer, and the slamming of a door a few seconds later is enough to make everyone flinch.

"You know, you're being a naughty girl this morning," Carolyn chastises in the same benevolent tone from before. "I told you no arguing."

Riley bats her eyelashes and gives Carolyn an innocent smile as she reaches for the chocolate chips. "I do it?"

Carolyn sighs. "Yes, you can do it."

…..

Cecilia finishes her final session of inpatient therapy to a wild round of applause from her parents, Derek, and all her therapists. "Now I can go home?" she asks after sobbing her way through much of the two hours.

"Now you can go home," Mark confirms as he picks her up, and they're surrounded by a throng of people wanting goodbye hugs from the spunky little blonde.

"I'm gonna miss you!" one of the nurses coos.

"I'm not gonna miss you!" Cecilia chirps, and grins when everyone laughs. Then she spots Derek in the crowd and motions to him to come closer. "Now I can go see Sully!"

He holds a hand up for a high five. "You can come see Sully any time you want. I'm so proud of you for working so hard."

She flexes her muscles and growls. "Now I'm big and strong!"

"Yes, you are." He laughs and ruffles her hair. "Have fun at home. I'll see you soon."

Finally they finish their goodbyes and make it out to the car. "Daddy, I want a milkshake," Cecilia demands as Mark buckles her in.

"You've had enough milkshakes. We're going home and you're going to eat a real lunch," Addison quickly answers before Mark can give in to the request.

"But I want one! Please, daddy?" she asks sweetly.

Mark looks at Addison as they get in the car. "You know what the dietician said. Calories are calories. She needs to put on some weight and keep her energy up. Let her eat what she wants and worry about a balanced diet later."

"That's the dumbest advice I ever heard," Addison scoffs as she buckles her seatbelt. "Whatever she wants. How am I supposed to make the Emme and Annie eat balanced meals when she's sitting there eating ice cream and cookies? This hunger strike nonsense ends now." It's not that she's without sympathy; when the psych-child life specialist explained that Cecilia was likely refusing to eat after surgery because she felt it was the only thing she could control, Addison had been understanding. After all, the addition of twins to the family, a cross-country move, and three surgeries in just over a year was certainly a lot for a young child to cope with. But after two weeks of giving in to every request for junk food when Cecilia refused anything even remotely healthy, she'd had enough.

"If you eat your lunch, daddy will make you a milkshake, okay?" Mark offers.

Cecilia rolls her eyes. "Okay," she agrees, knowing full well he'll eventually give in.

…..

They arrive home to a porch decorated with brightly-colored streamers and balloons. There's a "Welcome home, Cecilia!" sign on the door that Carolyn helped the kids make, complete with finger-paint handprints from the twins.

Emme flings the door open and runs down the steps. "Cece! I missed you!"

"Emme! Hi!" Cecilia waves wildly as Mark gets her out of the car. Then her eyes wander to the porch. "Oh! Riley! I wanna play with Riley!" she squeals and Mark her carries away, leaving Emme standing there looking dejected.

"Hey, I missed you!" Addison says as she pulls Emme into a hug. Mark and Carolyn had brought the kids to the hospital to visit a few times, but it wasn't easy and Addison typically ended up fussing over the twins.

Emme sighs as she watches Cecilia and Riley embrace. "Yeah, I missed you too," she says softly with a pout.

"Aw, what's the matter, love bug?"

"Everyone likes Riley better than me!"

"Oh, that's not true-"

"It is! My dad does, and grandma does, even Cece does! How come no one likes me?"

"Sweetie, don't be ridiculous. Everyone likes you."

"Oh yeah? Grandma yelled at me even though Riley was being bad. It's not fair."

"Okay, you know what? We'll talk about it later. Can you just be happy Cecilia is home for now? Please?"

Emme huffs. "Fine."

"Good. Now take this." Addison hands Emme a bag full of the toys Cecilia had received in the hospital, then grabs her suitcase and heads inside.

In the living room Cecilia and Riley already have a bucket of My Little Ponies strewn across the floor. Emme sits down and picks up her favorite, Princess Luna.

"Me an' Riley are playing," Cecilia announces.

"I wanna play too."

"Nope. Only us."

"But those are _my_ ponies," Emme argues, but Cecilia just holds her hand out. Emme reluctantly hands over the pony and gives her mother a pointed stare. "See? No one likes me!"

Addison, Mark, and Carolyn watch as Emme runs upstairs and slams her door once again. "What was that all about?" Mark asks.

"She thinks everyone likes Riley more than they like her," Addison replies with a frown.

"I'll admit she was a bit of a handful this morning," Carolyn adds.

"Yeah, she gave me a bit of attitude last night, too," Mark says.

"I'll talk to her," Addison offers, but the twins choose that second to start crying in unison. "Later," she adds as she rescues Everett from his swing.


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey guys, glad you're all liking this story so far! I see some of you think Riley's a brat...keep in mind that 1) she is a brave little cancer survivor, so she probably is a bit spoiled, but also 2) she's only two and a half - sharing and taking turns can be** _ **hard**_ **when you're two! Especially when you're an only child (though not for long, sorry kid!) and have had no real reason to share and take turns. Also, Carolyn's grandparenting skills have been called into question. Maybe it's because I'm a child of the 80s,** _ **and**_ **an oldest child, but that's a pretty accurate representation of how shit went down at my house when my kid sister was being a brat...somehow, it was always** _ **my**_ **fault! But I survived it and am still here to tell the tale, so I have a sneaking suspicion Emme will too, despite the obvious unfairness of it all. That said, with all the chaos of the last year poor little Emme definitely does deserve a little special attention...the question is, will she get it? Guess you'll have to keep reading to find out!**

 **To the reviewer inquiring about Emme's age, she's six. I feel I've kept her behavior pretty age-appropriate for what she's been through, but feel free to let me know how I could do better.**

 **To the guest who had this to say: "It's a really nice sequel. But mark has had absolutely no accountability at all for his actions. He took his best friends wife and basically his entire life and still acts self righteous in my opinion. youve dealt with dereks faults and a little of addisons but nothing on marks part. It's almost as if derek is the sole bad guy and mark is like a saint." You're right, Mark is partly to blame for the affair, and it was a shitty thing to do to his best friend. He is far from a saint.** _ **However**_ **, in this story, Derek had 5 years in which to confront Mark and Addison about the affair. He didn't. He ignored every attempt Addison made to contact him. He only invited them back into his life because he needed Emme and, imo, at that point he was no longer in a position to demand an explanation, apology, etc. That doesn't mean it won't be addressed at some point in this fic now that the immediate crisis of Riley's illness has passed, but if you're looking for a fic where Derek is a saint and Mark is a terrible person for stepping up and raising the child Derek abandoned, I can save you some time and say that this is not and never will be that fic. (sorry, would have preferred to say all that in a PM but you're anon, so…)**

Addison grabs a couple of bottles from the fridge and hands one to Mark, then sinks into the recliner to feed Everett. She can't help but feel a twinge of guilt. As a doctor, she knows that formula is a perfectly nutritious option - Everett's pot belly and roly-poly thighs are a testament to that - but as a mother, she feels like the twins are getting the short end of the stick.

She'd managed to nurse Emme for a year and a half; Cecilia, due to her premature birth and subsequent disabilities, hadn't been able to nurse, but Addison had pumped breast milk for her for nearly two years, wanting her to have the best nutrition possible for her sick little body. Even Annie, the admittedly somewhat neglected middle child, nursed for nine months before the strain of carrying twins and breastfeeding began to take a toll on Addison's body.

With the twins, she just couldn't do it. Between the stress of caring for two infants, the hustle and bustle of Cecilia's near-constant doctor's appointments and therapy, and the rush to pack up the house for the move, she was constantly tired and worn out. Finally, with a gentle reminder from her doctor that in order to take care of her children she needed to take care of herself, she had reluctantly decided to start weaning the twins shortly before the move. By the time Cecilia's surgery rolled around they were exclusively formula fed and thriving - Everett was fat and happy; Georgia, though leaner, was still the picture of health.

Still, Addison can't help but feel they're getting shortchanged. If she is honest, she feels a little bad for herself, too. She misses the closeness of nursing, the little moments of bonding no one else has with her babies. But the twins are doing just fine and that, she reminds herself, is all that really matters in the end.

Of course the twins aren't the only ones getting shortchanged, Addison realizes. She suspects there is something more to Emme giving Mark "a bit of attitude," or being "a handful" for Carolyn, and after a brief discussion with them for clarification, she burps Everett, returns him to his swing, and heads to Emme's room.

"Hey, love bug, can I come in?" she asks after a knock on the closed door goes unanswered. Emme still doesn't acknowledge her, so she opens the door. Emme is lying on the bed, quiet now though although her eyes are red, tear streaks still wet on her flushed cheeks, and Addison sits down next to her. "You want to talk?"

Emme hugs her lamb and blankie to her chest. "No."

Addison brushes damp locks of hair out of Emme's face. "Okay, do you mind if I talk, then?" Emme just shrugs, so she continues. "Honey, I know things have been really crazy lately, and you're probably feeling a little left out, but nobody loves Riley more than you. Everybody loves you, too."

"That's not true! Riley pulled my hair, but I had to sit in time out!" Emme says defensively as she sits up. "She doesn't love me! She only loves the babies."

"Grandma said you hit Riley with the masher." Addison pauses and Emme looks away guiltily. "I'm sorry Riley pulled your hair, and I'm sorry that she didn't get a timeout, but you're a lot bigger than she is. You can't hit your little sisters, so you did deserve a timeout, didn't you?"

Emme fiddles with the hem of her shirt for a moment before answering. "Yeah. But-"

"No buts. From now on if your sisters are bothering you, you tell an adult. And if they don't do something about it, walk away. Just walk away, okay?"

"Okay." Emme slumps forward, sounding defeated. "I _hate_ being the oldest. It sucks."

"Em! Where did you hear that?"

"Missy…"

 _The disappearing nanny. Good riddance, if she talks like that in front of the kids!_ "Well, it's not nice. Don't say it again."

Emme nods. "I'm glad she left. She's mean."

Addison frowns. This is the first she's heard about that. "What did she do that was mean?"

"Annie choked on a piece of candy, and Missy yelled at her."

Addison's heart stops for a moment. "She choked?" Suddenly she feels validated for insisting that any prospective nanny have up-to-date CPR and first aid training; at least she had the foresight to do that even if she is, apparently, a lousy judge of character.

"She's okay _now_ ," Emme continues, as if it isn't obvious, "but Missy was just screamin' an' screamin' at Annie after. It was her own fault! She shouldn't have left her purse where Annie could get it! That was so stupid! And one night, when daddy was late, Everett wouldn't stop crying so she just left him alone in his room!"

Addison has to laugh, despite the severity of the situation. Emme may claim to hate being a big sister, but she sure is protective of the little ones. "That wasn't very nice of her," she agrees as she drops a kiss on the top of her daughter's dark little head. "You know what? Annie, Cece, and the twins are so lucky to have you as a big sister. I'm so proud of you."

Emme snuggles into Addison. "Mom, are you going anywhere tomorrow?"

"No, why?"

"Can we do something tomorrow? Just me an' you?"

"Oh, honey, we can't tomorrow. Daddy has to work, so I have to stay home. Plus I have some new nannies coming over tomorrow for interviews."

Emme screws her face up. "I don't want another nanny. I want Lisa! Why can't she just move out here too?"

This really tugs at Addison's heart. She hadn't even thought about how that would affect Emme, whom Lisa had cared for since infancy. "You really miss her, don't you? But she can't move here, because her mother is very sick. She had to stay with her."

"But I miss her! And I miss Aunt Savvy, and Uncle Weiss."

"I know. Moving is really hard, isn't it? You know what? I think we better go have some lunch, but how about tonight we have a girls' night, just you and me. Daddy can put the little ones to bed, and we'll watch a movie, and I'll paint your nails, and we can talk some more, if you want to."

"Okay. And can we have popcorn? And soda?" Emme asks, deciding to press her luck.

"Popcorn, yes. I'll think about the soda," Addison says, but only because she's pretty sure they don't even have any soda in the house.

When they get to the dining room, Carolyn is serving everyone bowls of homemade chicken soup. Emme doesn't hide her disappointment that she and Riley are still there. Of course Riley is sitting next to Cecilia - somehow Carolyn has convinced her to eat - with Annie on the other side of her, so Emme scowls and slips into a chair at the other end of the table.

Mark reaches over and ruffles her hair. "You okay?"

She leans in to whisper to him. "I want them to go home."

"That's not nice," he whispers back.

"Well they're not nice!"

"Emme, stop it. Be. Nice," he warns through clenched teeth as Carolyn approaches with a bowl of soup.

"I bet Riley got to help with this too," Emme mutters as the bowl is set in front of her.

"Emme!"

"Well, you chose to go to your room. If you stayed down here you could have helped."

"Well, if you didn't like that stupid crybaby more than me I would have stayed!"

"Emme, that is enough! Mom, I am so sorry. I don't know what's gotten into her lately," Mark says as Emme tries to run. He grabs her arm and holds her down. "You sit right there and eat."

Addison rests her elbows on the table and massages her temples. "Mark, leave her alone," she says wearily.

"No. Mom has been a huge help this week, and I will not have Emme disrespecting her like that."

"She's upset, Mark. She's allowed to be upset," Addison argues, raising her voice.

"But she's not allowed to be rude," Mark counters.

"Okay, okay, you know what? It's fine," Carolyn interrupts.

"It's not-"

"It's fine. The last few weeks have been hard on everyone. Just leave her be," Carolyn insists as she squats down next to Emme. "Emme, you're a big girl and I expect more from you than I do from the little ones, but you were right. Riley was being naughty and she should have gotten a time out too. I'm sorry that I hurt your feelings. Forgive me?"

Emme just stares sullenly until Mark pokes her in the ribs. "Yeah," she finally says, if only to satisfy her father.

Carolyn stands up and para Emme's head. "Good girl. Now eat your soup before it gets cold."

Emme does as she's told, though she breathes a sigh of relief when the meal ends and Carolyn takes Riley home.

…..

After dinner that night Addison gives the twins their bottles while Mark bathes Annie and Cecilia. Once they're in bed she hands the twins off to him, and goes to the kitchen to make popcorn while Emme decides on a movie. She chooses Tangled, and has a bottle of purple nail polish ready for her promised mani-pedi.

They snuggle up on the couch and try to focus on the movie, but all Addison hears is Everett's non-stop crying - he's her fussiest baby by far - punctuated by Cecilia's shouted demands for everything from another story to a drink of water.

"You can go, if you want," Emme finally says when she catches her mother looking at the stairs for the umpteenth time.

"No, it's fine. Daddy can take care of it," Addison insists as she sets aside the now-empty popcorn bowl and reaches for the nail polish. She only gets one hand done before they hear a _thump!_ followed by a loud cry. Cecilia must've gotten tired of waiting for Mark and tried to get out of bed on her own, she thinks.

Emme sees the concern on Addison's face as she tries to ignore the crying. "You should go," she says with a sad sigh.

"I'm sorry, love bug. I'll be right back," Addison promises before dashing up the stairs. But by the time she comforts Cecilia and gets her to sleep - with Everett still wailing in the background - Emme's passed out on the couch.


	4. Chapter 4

**Okay, so once again I accidentally posted twice in under 24 hours, which means that the second time the story never came to the top of the page. If you aren't following the story you didn't get a notification that chapter 3 was posted so you should definitely check that out before reading this chapter.**

 **To my star reviewer Patsy, I wish you had an account so I could PM you! But regarding your review on These Little Moments - have patience! An upcoming one shot will answer your question.**

The next morning Derek wakes to an empty bed. It's early, so early that he's pretty sure that even Carolyn "Early Bird" Shepherd is still asleep. He closes his eyes and tries to go back to sleep, assuming that Meredith is in the bathroom, but when she doesn't return he goes looking for her.

"You're up early," he comments when he finds her on the couch with her laptop, feet propped up on the coffee table.

"This kid isn't even born yet and already he won't let me sleep," she grumbles, wincing as she gets a kick to the ribs. "But hey, remember how Sesame Street Live is at the theatre today, but we never got tickets because we thought I'd be, you know, having a baby?"

"Yeah…"

"They still have tickets. Well, I can only get three seats together, but seeing as your son seems to be in no hurry to come out I thought maybe it would be nice to do something with Riley before the baby comes and I'm busy with him."

He smiles. "I'm sure she'd love that. Why don't you and mom take her?"

"Are you sure?"

"Positive. She'll be so excited to go with grandma."

…..

Addison is bathing Everett, the rest of the kids playing in the living room - Emme's still hurt, but she's never been able to stay mad for long, especially with Cecilia - when Derek calls. "I assume you're calling to tell me there's a baby on the way," she says excitedly, not bothering with a greeting.

"No, he's still pretty happy where he is. Actually, I'm calling to see if I can take Emme today. I know it's not my weekend with her, and you probably want to spend some time with rest of the kids after being with Cece, so it's fine if you say no," he rambles on, fully expecting a refusal, "but Meredith and my mother are taking Riley to see Sesame Street, so I thought maybe-"

"Actually, that's a great idea," Addison interrupts as she holds the phone between her ear and her shoulder, needing both hands to hold the slippery, squirming baby, then fills him in on the previous day's events. "Not that I'm judging your mom," she adds hastily. "Believe me, I know how crazy it is with five kids, especially with four under the age of three, but Emme's feeling a little left out. I have five potential nannies coming for interviews today so I'm swamped, but I think a little one-on-one time would be good for her right now, especially since you'll be busy with your little guy pretty soon."

"Great. Can I pick her up around eleven? We can get lunch, and I'll see what she wants to do after that."

"Eleven is great. Now if you'll excuse me, I gotta get Everett out of the tub."

"Sure. See you soon."

…..

Derek doesn't even have a chance to ring the doorbell before Emme flings the door open. She's wearing a dress with tiny, light blue flowers and has her hair done in two French braids tied with blue bows; a miniature Dooney and Bourke handbag hands from one shoulder. _Of course she has a Dooney and Bourke purse already_ , Derek thinks with a slight shake of his head. "Where we goin'?" she asks excitedly as she hops from one bare foot to the other.

"Okay, okay, let him in," Addison calls out as she peeks out from the kitchen. "And go get your shoes on!"

Emme dashes off to find her shoes and Derek joins Addison in the kitchen. "Thanks for letting me take her today."

"Really, it's no problem. I'm glad you asked," she insists as she turns her attention back to the dishes in the sink. "She's still upset about the move, and everyone's been so busy with the little ones that she feels left out. I tried to spend some time with her last night and it was an epic failure, so this is good. She needs some attention."

"I feel bad that mom had to bring Riley with her this week. When we found out she was coming we gave the sitter the month off but-"

"It's fine. Really. We're just grateful she was able to watch the kids. I still can't believe the nanny quit after barely a month, with no notice! Although based on what Emme told me yesterday it was probably for the best. If you hear any...questionable language coming out of her mouth, just know she didn't learn it from us."

"Noted."

"Okay, I'm ready!" Emme announces as she returns wearing dainty white sandals; she has also added a floppy straw hat and oversized sunglasses to her ensemble. "Where we goin'?"

"Well, we need to get lunch first. You still like lobster rolls?" Derek asks as he tugs on one of her braids.

"Yeah!"

"Well, then I know where we're going. I'm not sure what else we're doing," he says to Addison, "but I'll have her back by dinner time."

"Works for me. Have fun, baby!" Addison stops cleaning long enough to give Emme a kiss and shoos them out the door, saying the first potential nanny will be there any minute.

Derek makes sure Emme is buckled into her booster seat before pulling out of the driveway. "So, what do you have in your purse?" he asks as he glances at her in the rearview mirror, wondering what a six-year-old could possibly need a purse - a designer one at that - for.

"Oh, lots of stuff!" Emme says as she starts pulling things out of the bag. "Tissues, a pen and notepad, some princesses, a quarter, lipstick-"

"Your mom lets you wear lipstick?"

He can practically hear her eyes roll - she's definitely Addison's daughter. "Not _real_ lipstick. It's lipgloss," she informs him as she holds up a tube of cherry Chapstick before going back to identifying the contents of her purse which includes, among other things, a bag of fruit snacks, some hair clips, another pair of sunglasses " _in case I lose these ones_ ," and at least a dozen small toys.

By the time she's pulled everything out and put it back in they're at Pike Place Market. "I remember this place," she observes as they're shown to a booth in the restaurant. "This is where we came after we went to the aquarium!"

"That's right," he says as she starts studying the menu, then notices that only one of her hands has purple nails. "What's up with the nail polish?"

Her face falls as she sets her menu down. "Mommy was painting them last night, but Cece wouldn't go to sleep and Everett kept crying so she couldn't finish. And then I fell asleep."

"Oh. Well, do you want to go get them painted after lunch?"

She gasps. "Really? At one of those _fancy places?_ "

"Yes, at one of those fancy places."

Emme wiggles a little in her seat and grins up at him. "Cool!"

"Very cool. Now pick out what you want to eat."

Emme hems and haws over the menu, first deciding on the lobster roll she'd had the first time, then changing her mind to crab cakes when the waitress appeared to take their order.

"Have you ever had crab cakes?" Derek asks a bit dubiously.

"No, but they look pretty good. I wanna try them."

He shrugs and nods at the waitress. If she'll eat lobster rolls, she'll probably like crab cakes too, he figures.

"Where's grandma today?" Emme asks once the waitress walks away.

"She went to see Sesame Street with Riley and Meredith."

"Oh. 'Cause she likes Riley better than me?"

"No, because we only had three tickets, and I told her to go with them so I could see you today."

This makes Emme smile. "You just wanted to see me?"

"I did."

"I like seeing you."

"I like seeing you too."

Emme bites her lip and hesitates before speaking again. "Will you still want to see me after Meredith has the baby?" she finally asks as she tears her straw wrapper into tiny pieces.

"Of course I will! Why wouldn't I want to see you?"

"'Cause you'll be busy and you won't have time."

"Em, look at me. Babies are a lot of work, but I'll still have time for you-"

"But my mommy and daddy don't"

"Well, that's different. Your mommy had twins, and Meredith is only having one baby. Plus your parents already had Annie and Cece, _and_ they were getting ready to move, _and_ Cece had surgery. So they had a lot of stuff going on. Meredith and I won't be that busy. You'll still come to my house every other weekend, and whenever else you want to as long as it's okay with your parents. And we're still going on vacation before you start school, me, you, Meredith, Riley and the baby."

She perks up at the mention of vacation. "Where we going?"

"It's a surprise."

"Aww. How long til we go?"

"Five weeks."

"That's _forever!_ "

He laughs. "No it isn't! It's thirty-five days. That's not too long."

She's counting out the days on the calendar on his phone when the waitress arrives with their food. Not surprisingly, she digs into the crab cakes and declares them "delicious." It doesn't take her long to polish them off, along with her potato salad and grilled asparagus.

"I can't believe you like that!" he teases, wrinkling his nose as she takes a bite of the asparagus.

"You _don't_ like it?"

"Nope. That's the one vegetable I don't like."

"But it's _so good_! But you know what?"

"What?"

She giggles and leans closer to him. "It makes your pee stinky!" she whispers before giggling again.

"Really? I did not need to know that! No more potty talk at the table," he orders, though he can't help but laugh at her.

Once they finish he searches for nail salons in his phone and drives to the nearest one; it looks a little sketchy, so they move along to the next one, which is much more satisfactory.

"Well, what are we here for today?" a young woman asks cheerfully when they approach the front desk.

"She needs her nails done," Derek says as Emme holds up her half-painted hands.

"Okay, just a manicure today, or a mani-pedi?"

Emme looks up at Derek. "Let's do both," he answers, and Emme does a little happy dance.

"And is dad getting one too?"

"Oh, no! Not me. Just her."

"Oh, come on! This is the twenty-first century! We get a lot of guys in here."

"Yeah, come on! It'll be fun!" Emme encourages, and that is how he finds himself sitting in a massage chair, soaking his feet in hot, lavender-scented water, his fingernails trimmed, buffed, and coated in clear gloss.

"See? It is nice, isn't it?" Emme asks from the chair next to him. Her fingernails are now a bright, slightly sparkly coral pink, and she's clearly enjoying the foot massage she's getting.

He has to admit she's right. "It does feel pretty good," he agrees.

After they've paid - _sixty dollars to paint twenty fingers and twenty toes?! -_ she tugs on his arm and points to the building next door. "Hey, can I get my hair cut?" she asks.

"Um, I don't know. Maybe we should ask your mom first."

She treats him to another eye roll. "She won't care! We go to the salon all the time!"

"Okay, I guess so." _It's only hair. It'll grow back,_ he tells himself.

"Ooo, I want this one!" Emme squeals as she points to a picture in the magazine they're looking through.

"You're sure? It's pretty short," he warns as he eyes the long braids trailing halfway down her back.

She nods confidently. "I'm sure."

"Okay, it's your hair," he finally agrees, and she runs off with the stylist. _It's only hair. It'll grow back if Addison hates it._

"Do you like it?" she inquires when she returns, suddenly looking ten years older.

If he's honest, it's a lot cuter than he'd thought it would be. "I do. You look beautiful," he answers truthfully as she turns so he can see all of it.

"What are we doing now?" she asks when they're back in the car and he checks the time.

"Well, we should be getting back soon, but I think we have time for an ice cream. Just don't tell your mom we had it so close to dinnertime."

She pinky swears not to tell, and they order hot fudge sundaes before he brings her home and walks her inside.

"Mom? I'm home!" Emme yells as she makes her way to the kitchen.

Addison's jaw drops when she turns around. "Okay, who is this teenager, and what have you done with my six-year-old?" she demands to know as she grabs Emme by the shoulders and spins her around to inspect her new hairstyle. It's an angled bob with long, sideswept bangs - completely different from anything she's ever done, but undeniably adorable.

"I was going to call you, but she said it would be okay," he offers up apologetically.

"No, it's fine. I like it. It's just...a little unexpected. But it's cute. And probably a lot easier to style."

Emme holds up two long braids. "And look! The lady said I can donate it for kids with cancer, like Riley!" she announces proudly.

"That's a very nice thing to do. Why don't you leave those on the counter over there, and we'll look up where to send them tomorrow. Now go wash your hands, dinner is almost ready."

Emme does as she's told and Addison smiles at Derek. "Thanks for taking her. I haven't seen her this happy in a while."

…..

Derek has just gotten Riley into bed when Addison calls him. "You're calling to yell at me for letting her get her hair cut that short, aren't you?"

"No, I'm calling to yell at you for letting her have ice cream so close to dinner time. She got halfway through dinner, said she had a tummy ache, and threw up all over the kitchen floor."

"Oh. I'm sorry-" he stammers before she interrupts him.

"I'm kidding. Not about the puke. That really happened, but what the hell? We all need to eat dessert first sometimes. Really, I just wanted to thank you for taking her today."

"She's my kid. You don't have to thank me, you know."

"I know, but she really had a great time today. She needed that. And she said you got a mani-pedi, too…" she teases and he can tell she's smiling.

"Emme is very I swear to god, if you tell Mark…"

"Are you serious? Mark gets mani-pedis almost as often as I do."

"Really?"

"Really. Well, I'll let you go. Thanks again for taking her today.

"Any time."

 **Yes! Finally! Pure, warm and fuzzy fluff. Looks like things are looking up for our pint-sized, table-flipping hero...or are they?**

 **(Okay, soooooo...I actually have no idea where they're going for vacation. Give me ideas that aren't Disneyland or amusement parks in general because remember Emme 1) is terrified of people in costumes and 2) gets motion sickness so she doesn't like rides. And, GO!)**


	5. Chapter 5

"Emme! Can you help Annie get her shoes on?" Addison calls as she hurries to the living room with Cecilia's sneakers and AFOs.

Cecilia tries to grab the AFOs. "I can do it!"

"I know you can, but we're late. You can do it next time," Addison says, but Cecilia is having none of it and tries to squirm away.

"No! I'm a big girl! I can do it!"

"Cece, please let me do it this time," Addison begs. She really does hate to quash her daughter's burgeoning independence, but after a disastrous morning in which Georgia had a major blowout and Annie managed to get the lid off her sippy cup and spill its contents on both herself and Cecilia, thus requiring a wardrobe change for both, they have exactly half an hour to get to the hospital for Cecilia's physical therapy. Unfortunately, if left to her own devices, it will take Cecilia at least that long to get the braces and shoes on.

Cecilia manages to wiggle her way off the couch. "No! I wanna do it!"

"Okay, well then you'll have to do it in the car," Addison says, finally admitting defeat. "Emme, are you two ready?" she yells in frustration.

"Yes," Emme answers from directly behind Addison, causing her to jump a foot.

Addison scoops up Cecilia, her AFOs, and her sneakers. "Okay, Annie, hold Emme's hand and go out to the car," she orders, and is pleasantly surprised when the toddler actually listens.

In the car she gets Cecilia buckled in and moves on to Annie, who swats her mother's hands away and yells. "I do it!"

They _really_ don't have time for that so, despite her very loud protests, Addison buckles her in, then leaves the two girls under Emme's supervision and runs back inside for the twins.

By the time they get to the hospital, Cecilia has one AFO and one shoe on. Addison checks the time and reaches for the other ones; they have exactly seven minutes to get to the therapy clinic. "Okay, I'm doing it now," she barks as she yanks Cecilia's kneesock up and attempts to shove her foot into the brace.

"No, I'm doin' it!" Cecilia howls.

"No, I am. Now sit still," she orders a bit harshly, and the girl bursts into tears. "Oh, come on. Don't do this," she mutters as she finishes getting her ready. She hastily straps the twins into the double stroller, and sets Annie on the ground. "Hold Emme's hand and follow me," she orders before hanging Cecilia's walker on the stroller handles, balancing Cecilia on one hip, and hurrying across the parking lot.

"Annie, _come on_ ," Emme whines as the toddler tries to pull her in the opposite direction. She yanks Annie's arm; the toddler catches her toe on the curb and crashes to the ground with a mighty wail.

Addison turns around to find her face down on the pavement. "Are you kidding me? Okay, get up. You're alright," she mutters, and reaches down to pull Annie to her feet with her free hand. The tip of her nose is scraped, as is one pudgy hand, but as far as Addison can tell she's not seriously injured so she presses on.

Somehow they make it to PT only a minute late. Once Cecilia is off with her therapist, she turns her attention to Annie. "It's not that bad," she decides as she swipes at Annie's nose with a tissue, then digs a Sesame Street band aid out of her purse for her hand. "There, all better," she says with a kiss as Everett starts fussing - she's convinced he's never really happy unless he's being held, preferably by her. She plops Annie in the chair next to Emme and grabs Everett and a bottle.

Of course Annie's content to sit for all of two minutes - about a minute and a half longer than Addison expected - before she slips off the chair and bolts for the therapy room. "Oh, no. You get back here." Addison cuts her off and steers her back to the chairs. "Emme, can you play with her, please?"

Emme growls and looks up from her book. "But I'm reading!"

"Well, read to her. Either that, or you can feed your brother and I'll watch her."

"Mom! I'm not a fucking nanny!" Emme snaps, causing Addison's jaw to drop.

"Emmeline Beatrice Shepherd, do _not_ use that word again!" Addison orders once she finds her tongue. "Where did you even hear it?"

"Missy," Emme answers with a nonchalant shrug.

"Well, Missy is a crappy nanny. Say it again and you'll get your mouth washed out with soap," Addison warns. Emme looks like she's about to press her luck, but Annie chooses this moment to attempt another escape. "Emme, _please_ just keep her busy for a little while?" Addison begs as she digs through the diaper bag once the toddler is corralled. She comes up with a set of stacking cups, a few board books, and a light-up bouncy ball.

Emme rolls her eyes and slams her book shut. "Fine! But I want a green juice after."

"Whatever. Just keep her out of trouble for an hour and you can have anything you want."

Emme sets her book aside and distracts Annie with the cups for a while, then reads to her while Addison stands in the doorway, swaying with Everett and glancing back at Georgia - happily gnawing on a set of colorful plastic keys - every now and then as she watches Cecilia.

Finally therapy is over - and not a moment too soon because Georgia is starting to whimper and Annie is completely over her meager selection of toys. "Wow, you did so good!" Addison gushes as Cecilia makes her way back to the waiting room. "Are you ready for lunch? Let's go see daddy!"

Annie starts shrieking. "Daddy! See daddy!"

"Yes, we're going to see daddy. Put your toys in the bag, please."

"No, see daddy!"

"Angelina Noelle, pick them up now."

"No, want daddy!"

"Angelina, I'm counting to three. One...two…"

Just before Addison gets to three, Annie grabs the toys and shoves them in the bag. "All done!"

"Good girl. Emme, Cece, come on."

Cecilia starts whining and holds her arms up. "Carry me!"

"Cee, we're only going to the cafeteria. You can walk."

"But I'm _tired._ "

Addison sighs but picks her up, hoping the therapist doesn't see. _Make her walk whenever possible_ , the therapist says, but Addison reasons that she did work awfully hard.

They make their way to the cafeteria, Emme practically dragging an unruly Annie, and find Mark waiting for them. He rushes to Addison's side and takes Cecilia from her. "How did it go?" he asks as he leads them to a table.

"Therapy went fine, but we just barely made it on time. What a morning!"

"Annie was bad! She dumped her juice on me! An' Gigi pooped all over the place!" Cecilia announces gleefully.

"Well, I'm glad I missed that! What about you? Were you good for mommy?"

"Yes! I was the _bestest_!"

Mark laughs when Addison raises her eyebrows at that. "What?"

"I can't say she was bad. Just...stubborn. Some day that will be a good thing, just not when we're running late for therapy."

After a disagreement between Annie, Cecilia, and Emme over who gets to sit next to Mark - the little ones win, of course - they get the kids settled at the table and take turns going to get food. Emme's sulking over the unfairness of it all when she spots Derek in line. "Hey, there's my dad!" she announces, her demeanor changing markedly as she jumps up and starts waving. "Hey, dad! Come sit with us!"

He smiles and waves, then makes his way over once he gets his food. "Hey! What are you doing here?" he asks as he takes a seat next to Emme and drops a kiss on the top of her head.

"Cece had therapy so we all had to come."

He turns to Addison. "Why didn't you call? Mom would have watched them."

"She's done enough already. I didn't want to bother her again."

"Addison, I just talked to Meredith. So far today, Mom has already reorganized the kitchen cupboards and pantry, gone grocery shopping, and is now filling the freezer with a month's worth of meals so we don't have to cook after she leaves. If you won't call her to babysit for your own sake, do it for Meredith. She will thank you for it, I swear. Please, I beg you."

"Okay, okay. She can come all week if that baby doesn't come, just so I can take Cece to therapy. I can handle them after that."

Emme interrupts them by tugging on Derek's sleeve. "Hey dad, look!" She opens her mouth and starts wiggling a bottom tooth.

"Oh, wow, that's really loose! I think the tooth fairy will be visiting again pretty soon."

"I know! I hope she brings me another dollar!"

"I bet she will."

"Hey, I wanna dollar too!" Cecilia pipes up.

"I think you have a few more years before the tooth fairy visits you," Derek informs her.

"Aw, nuts." Cecilia pouts, but only for a moment. "Hey, guess what?"

"What?"

"I did all my therapy and I didn't cry!" she tells Derek proudly. He, Addison, and Mark all laugh, remembering the last two days of her hospital stay.

"That's great. What did you do today?"

"Um, the...the…the walking thing," she answers with a glance at Addison for help.

"The treadmill."

"Yeah, the treadmill. An' the things on my legs." She bends down to tap one ankle, then moved her leg up and down. "Like that."

"Oh, the ankle weights?"

"Uh huh! I did ten times!" she announces with both hands held up, fingers splayed.

""Wow! Gimme five!" Derek reaches across the table, and Cecilia slaps his hand enthusiastically. "Did you do-"

Emme taps his shoulder. "You know what? I read a new book last night!" she says when he turns to her.

"Excuse me, I was talking to Cecilia."

"But I wanna tell you about the book!"

"Emme, it's rude to interrupt. Wait your turn," he says sternly before turning his attention back to Cecilia as Emme pouts. "Did you do sit ups at therapy?"

She wrinkles her little button nose. "Yeah, but I don't like those!"

"I don't like them either, but they'll make you strong."

"Yeah, I'm gonna be big an' strong!"

"Okay, chatterbox, eat your lunch," Mark interrupts gruffly with a steely glare at Derek. "You're not going to get big and strong if you don't eat."

Cecilia groans but digs into her bowl of pasta, and Derek turns to Emme. "Now would you like to tell me about your book?"

"Yeah! It's called _Sparky_ , and it's about a sloth! I wonder if they have a sloth at the zoo here?"

"Well, I don't know, we'll have to go see," he says before his pager goes off. "Sorry, I gotta go. Maybe if it's okay with your mom you can,come over for dinner tonight and finish telling me about it." He glances at Addison, and she nods in approval. "Okay, I'll come pick you up when I get out of work."

"I wanna go to his house for dinner," Cecilia says as Derek hurries off.

"Well, you can't 'cause he's _my_ dad, not yours. He likes me better than you 'cause you're not his daughter."

"He does too like me!" Cecilia protests. "I wanna go!"

"You're not going. You're staying home with me," Mark informs her as Emme grins smugly. "Now finish eating."


	6. Chapter 6

**To the anon reviewer from the other day: Oh, gosh, you are so right. I'm sorry. This story is awful. Please point me in the direction of some good fan fiction so I can get a better idea of what you like. Wait, no, let me take a stab at it...Mark is a filthy manwhore, Addison is a cold-hearted, adulterous bitch, Meredith is the saintly heroine, and Derek is just** _ **so dreamy.**_ **And maybe a bomb, shooting, or plane crash thrown in for plot? Hold on, getting right on that. If that doesn't work, then I'll be saying goodbye because I really don't see how I can continue boring the masses after that scathing review. Again, I apologize. To those of you who enjoyed DWTNY and have liked this so far - apparently you have crappy taste in fanfic. Find something else to read.**

Derek picks Emme up for dinner a little before six. "You know, you don't _have_ to let him take her every time he asks. The visitation agreement says every other weekend and Wednesday evenings," Mark reminds Addison as soon as the door is closed behind them.

"It's _dinner_ , Mark. What are you afraid of, that she might get more than thirty seconds of attention for once?"

He scoffs. "Oh, come on. Don't you think you're being a little dramatic?"

"Am I? It's not like you'd know, since you're always working-"

"Oh, so now I'm not supposed to work to pay for this house and support our family?"

She throws her hands up. "I didn't say that! I'm just saying that you have worked every day since Cece was discharged, and you're not here to see what goes on all day! Cecilia needs help with just about everything, plus I have to do her exercises with her on the days she doesn't have therapy. Annie is hell-bent on either destroying the house, or killing herself. Maybe both. I can barely keep up with her. I can't put Everett down for more than five minutes without him screaming to be picked up, and Georgia...well, thank God she's the most laid-back baby ever but still. She's five months old, so she's needy. Plus I spent all weekend interviewing potential nannies. Where in all that do I have time to do anything with Emme? Yesterday she offered to help with the laundry just to spend time with me! So if she might get more than thirty seconds of attention from her father - that doesn't involve her doing chores - I'm okay with him taking her for a few hours even if it's not his day to have her."

"So I work all day to provide for our family, and I don't even get to see her when I get home because she's with the man who provided _nothing_ for her for five years?"

"He's making up for that. He pays child support now, and he's putting money into a college fund to make up for the time he wasn't paying it."

"Wow, gold star for Derek acting like a decent human being. Want me to get him a medal? A trophy, maybe? I supported Emme all those years and what do I get? I get screwed out of time with her!"

"It's one evening! She'll be home in a couple hours, and you can do her bath and put her to bed. I won't even fight you for it, I promise."

"Ooo, lucky me. Bath and a bedtime story."

"Oh, come on! Can't you just enjoy having one less kid to deal with for a few hours? And let Emme enjoy it? I get the feeling that Riley's used to getting what she wants, when she wants. Not that I'm judging Derek and Meredith - God knows if one of my kids had cancer and spent five months in the hospital the word 'no' wouldn't even be in my vocabulary - but they're gonna have their hands full with that kid once the baby is born. I wouldn't be surprised if he doesn't want to spend as much time with Emme for a while, so just let her enjoy this now while it lasts. Please?"

"Fine. For now. But he better not start making a habit of it."

…..

"...but really, _all_ sloths have three toes on each foot! But some have two fingers on each hand, and some have three, so that's how they got their names."

"That's very interesting," Derek says as he opens the door and lets Emme in. "Mmm, it smells good in here! Why don't you go see what grandma's making for dinner?"

Emme runs off to the kitchen, and Derek joins Meredith on the couch while Riley, who had been sitting with her mother, takes off after Emme. "How are you feeling?" he asks as he starts massaging her swollen feet.

"Like a beached whale," she grumbles with a wary glance towards the kitchen. "I didn't know Emme was coming tonight…"

"Just for dinner. Addison brought all the kids with her when she took Cece to therapy this morning and I ran into them in the cafeteria, but I got paged before I had a chance to talk to Emme. So I told her she could come for dinner."

Meredith sighs, looking somewhat relieved. "Oh, okay. Not that I mind having her here, of course," she adds quickly, though Derek can tell she feels otherwise. "It's just, a little warning would be nice."

"Of course. I should have called, I'm sorry."

"It's not a big deal, really. I was just hoping for a quiet evening, that's all," Meredith says before a loud shriek comes from the kitchen and she gives him an _I told you so_ glare.

"I wanna do it!"

"No, I am! You weren't helping until I got here!"

"Riley, Emme asked first. We'll find something else for you to do."

"No! I wanna do the mashed potatoes!"

"Riley-"

"Ow! That hurt!"

"Riley Anne, get over here!" Carolyn orders, but Riley dashes into the living room and tries to scramble up onto Meredith's lap; Derek snatches her as Meredith winces.

"What is going on here?" Derek asks as Riley clings to his neck.

"I wanna help grandma!"

Carolyn appears from the kitchen with a snuggling Emme. "Well, you don't get to help now, because you bit your sister."

"Riley! Why did you do that?" Meredith asks crossly.

"Because she was helping, an' I wanna help!"

"You don't get to help. You're going in time out," Derek announces as he gets up to check out Emme's arm. There's only a tiny bit of blood, but the skin is broken and starting to bruise. "I'm going to get this cleaned up."

"But I was helping grandma!"

"I know, but we don't want this to get infected. You can help next time."

Carolyn returns to the kitchen to finish dinner while Derek leads Emme to the bathroom to tend to her wound, leaving Meredith to deal with Riley; by the end of the time out Meredith is ready to throttle Derek for bringing Emme home, because Riley cried at the top of her lungs through the whole thing.

Finally timeout is over, Emme's arm is bandaged, and Carolyn has dinner - pork chops, mashed potatoes, glazed carrots, applesauce, and salad - on the table. "This looks amazing, mom," Derek says as straps Riley into her booster seat next to Carolyn, then takes a seat across from them with Emme next to him and Meredith at the head of the table.

After a few minutes of silence while everyone digs in, Emme starts telling everyone what she's learned about sloths. "They're _so cool_ ," she adds when she's done. "I wanna see a real one some day!"

When dinner is over Carolyn whisks Riley away for her bath and Derek brings Emme home. Addison is upstairs getting Annie ready for bed, so Mark lets them in.

"Daddy, Riley bit me!" Emme announces as she holds her arm up.

"Don't worry. It's been washed, and I put an antibiotic ointment on it. She'll be fine," Derek says when Mark scowls, then bends down to kiss Emme. "Bye, kiddo. I'll see you Wednesday."

"Bye dad!" Emme waves as Derek backs out of the driveway, then tells Mark about dinner as they head upstairs for her bath.

…..

The next morning Carolyn shows up to watch the kids while Addison brings Cecilia to physical therapy. Much to Emme's relief, Riley is home with Meredith.

The morning passes rather uneventfully. By the time Addison and Cecilia return, Annie and the twins are napping and Emme is playing with her Legos. Addison gets Cecilia settled with Emme and walks Carolyn to the door.

"Thank you so much for coming. You have no idea what a disaster it was yesterday dragging all of them along to therapy!"

"Isn't that what grandmothers are for?" Carolyn asks. "So, I was wondering if it would be okay if I take Emme tomorrow afternoon? She's been telling me about this book she read about a sloth, and how she's researched them on the iPad, and I thought it might be nice to go to the zoo, just the two of us, so she could see one."

"That's very sweet, but you did come out here to help Derek and Meredith. I don't want to keep you all day…"

"Nonsense! I came to help with the baby, but that doesn't mean I can't spend time with my other grandchildren while I'm here."

"Of course it doesn't. But what about Riley? I'm sure Meredith could use a break."

"Meredith has to take Riley to some doctor's appointments tomorrow."

"Oh, is everything okay?"

"She's fine, just the usual monthly follow-ups to make sure she's still N.E.D. I offered to go with her, but Meredith insists she's fine on her own. You know how pregnant women are these days, always have to prove they can still do it all. And Derek is meeting her there, so she'll be fine. But anyways, I have five children. I know it's tough being the oldest in a large family, seeing all the extra attention the younger ones get - I can only imaging how much harder it is with one of them having special needs - so I thought it would be good for her to get a little attention before she has another sibling hogging the spotlight."

"Okay, why not? I'm sure she'd love it."

…..

The following day Emme is reading when Addison and Cecilia get home from therapy. "Okay, Emme, go get your shoes on," Carolyn orders while Addison takes Cecilia upstairs to get changed; she hadn't informed Emme of her plans, in case Meredith went into labor before then.

"Why? Where we going?" Emme asks as she sets her book down.

"We're going to the zoo to see if they have a sloth!"

"Really?"

"Really! Now go get your shoes."

"Okay." Emme gets her shoes on and says goodbye to Addison, who slips her a twenty dollar bill, before skipping out the door after Carolyn.

When they get to the zoo they inspect the directory. "Look, they do have sloths!" Carolyn,announces. "They're way back there."

Emme grabs her grandmother's hand. "Let's go!"

Carolyn laughs. "Easy! We'll get there, but let's look at the other animals in the way."

"Ooo-kay." Emme pouts, but cheers up when they come to the first exhibit. "Oh, look! Otters! Those are sea otters, not river otters," she points out before explaining the differences between the two. "Sea otters are my favorite! Well, and sloths. Those are my favorite too, even though I never saw a real one yet."

About half way there they come to a kiosk selling stuffed animals. "Look, grandma, they have a sloth! I wanna get it!"

"Not now."

"But mommy gave me money! I can buy it!"

"Emme, we'll go to the gift shop when we're done. I promise you can buy one there, and I'll give you money to buy something too. But we're not buying it now and carrying it around all day."

"Fine. Are we almost to the sloths?"

"Halfway there. Look, there's the bears, and I think the big cats are after that."

"Like lions and tigers?"

"Yes, and cheetahs, leopards, and cougars, too."

"Cool!"

They've just finished admiring the big cats when Carolyn's phone rings. "You're sure?...Okay...Okay...Is he coming home?...Alright...Yes, I'll meet you there...Okay, see you soon"

Emme looks concerned as she listens to Carolyn. "Who was that?"

"That was Meredith. She's having the baby," Carolyn announces gleefully as she reaches for Emme's hand and turns around.

"But we didn't see the sloths yet!"

"I know, but I have to go get Riley. We'll come back."

Emme tries to pull away. "But they're right over there! Can't we see them first?"

"No, we have to hurry."

"But why? Babies take _forever_! Just ask my mom!"

"Not always-"

"My _dad_ would let me see them!" Emme insists as she continues to struggle. "And you promised I could buy the stuffed one!"

"Well, your dad isn't here. Now move your butt or we won't come back."

Emme follows Carolyn, but cries the whole way home; she's still sobbing as Carolyn drops her off at home. "I'm really sorry," she says to Addison as Emme runs past them to her room, "but Meredith's in labor. Derek already brought her to the hospital, and they have Riley with them so I have to go get her."

"I understand. Tell them good luck for me," Addison calls as Carolyn hurries off, then sighs and goes to talk to Emme.

 **So, I'm emotionally fragile after that anon served me up a healthy dose of the (their) truth. If you made it through the plotless drivel and out-of-character characters of this chapter, can you spare a minute to stroke my bruised and battered ego with a review? If not, I'll probably just abandon this and give up on writing forever.**

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 **JOKING. I'm not giving up! I do apologize for the delay. Things have been crazy around here, and will continue to be crazy for the next few weeks, so updates will be sporadic. Bear with me.**

 **Also, I've come to realize that I throw a lot of medical terms and acronyms at you. Would it help if I added explanations for those in an author's note, or are you good?**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hey guys! Thanks for putting up with my whining on the last chapter. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for constructive criticism, but to just call someone's work "miserable" is plain rude and not helpful, and I truly appreciate your support against this miserable anon.**

 **Thank you for all your wonderful, thoughtful reviews. Lots of good observations and questions, and I wish you all had accounts so I could reply to you through PM!**

 **Pat, "** _ **I like Addison girls but sometimes I think they must drive her nuts. Is Addison working?**_ " **Right? They definitely drive her nuts! You may have missed it since it was only briefly mentioned in the DWTNY epilogue (I think? Not like I wrote it or anything…) but Addison will not start work until September, and it is currently mid-July-ish.**

 **Patsy, "** _ **I was disappointed in Meredith's comment about Emme' presence for dinner."**_ **Aw, cut her some slack! She's over 40 weeks pregnant in mid-July, she's allowed to be grumpy! Besides, she was a saint when Derek surprised her with Emme's existence, and never really had the chance to process her feelings. Now that the immediate crisis is over she needs to work through that.**

It's closing in on midnight when Addison finally gets a text from Derek, along with a photo of a red, wrinkly baby with a bit of dark fuzz sticking straight up. _Brendan Christopher, July 25, 11:34pm 8lbs 3oz, 20.5"._

 _Emme was right_ , she thinks with a wry smile; babies _do_ take forever sometimes. She rolls over and gently shakes the dark-haired girl sprawled out between her and Mark in the king-sized bed. "Hey, love bug, wake up. Meredith had the baby."

Emme groans as she squints at the bright screen in the dark room. "That's my brother? He looks weird."

"That's just how babies look when they're first born. He'll look better when you see him tomorrow."

"And he was _just_ born?"

"About twenty minutes ago."

"I _told_ grandma we had time to see the sloths," Emme huffs before turning away from Addison and going back to sleep.

 _Congratulations, he's beautiful,_ Addison texts Derek. _Emme can't wait to meet him._

…..

Addison is getting Cecilia dressed when Derek calls her the next morning. "Hey, how's that little boy doing?"

She can practically hear him smiling on the other end. "Great! Ten fingers, ten toes, healthy as a horse and eating like a champ already."

"That's great. And how's Meredith?"

"Tired, and a little sore, but otherwise fine. Listen, mom's already here with Riley, but but she said she'll go pick Emme up if you want, so she can see Brendan."

"Oh, she doesn't have to make a special trip for Emme. She can come with me and I'll drop her off in maternity before Cecilia's PT, if that's okay with you."

"That's perfect. And Mark's off today, right, so you don't need a sitter?"

"Yup. He's staying here with Annie and the twins. So, we'll be there about quarter to ten."

"Great. See you then."

…..

Forty-five minutes later Addison, Emme, and Cecilia step off the elevator on the maternity unit. Immediately they spot Carolyn, who is just getting off the phone and waves excitedly to them. "Emme, come see your new brother! He's perfect!"

Emme gives her mother a wary glance, but Addison gives her a light shove in Carolyn's direction. "Go," she whispers to Emme. "We're running late for therapy. I'll pick her up when we're done!" she calls to Carolyn before herding Cecilia back into the elevator.

Emme shuffles towards the room and Carolyn guides her inside. Riley is sitting cross-legged on the bed in front of Meredith, wearing a lavender t-shirt with "World's best big sister," spelled out across the front in rainbow-colored letters; if she's excited about her new title, she's doing a pretty good job of hiding it as she pouts and waits for her mother to finish burping the baby, who just finished eating.

"Come on, Em! Come meet Brendan!" Derek bellows gleefully as Meredith lowers the infant so Emme can get a look at him.

The first thing she notices is the light blue onesie declaring him the "World's best little brother," in lettering identical to that on Riley's shirt. Her eyes dart from Brendan to Riley, and it doesn't escape Meredith, who hastily offers up an excuse. "They, um, they didn't have your size," she explains and hopes Emme buys it; the truth is she hadn't even thought to get one for her step daughter, an oversight she had blamed on pregnancy brain when Derek pointed it out.

"Besides, you're already a big sister. You don't need another t-shirt, right?" Carolyn adds cheerfully as she pats Emme on the back and Emme nods meekly. "So, what do you think? He's cute, isn't he?"

"He looks just like you when you were born," Derek says happily, and Carolyn nods enthusiastically in agreement.

"How would you know? You weren't there," Emme points out solemnly, and their smiles disappear.

"Well, uh, no...but I've seen pictures," Derek sputters as he takes the baby from Meredith; Riley immediately scrambles onto her vacant lap. "Come on, you want to hold him?"

Emme doesn't even have time to react before her grandmother lifts her and sets her on the bed. Carolyn carefully positions her arms, and hovers as Derek hands over the baby. "Okay, put your arm like this. Make sure you supp-"

"I know how to hold a baby!" Emme snaps. "I'm _already_ a big sister, remember?"

Carolyn backs off with a scowl, but Derek just keeps smiling and ignores the outburst. "Look at that. You're a pro! He likes you already. He knows you're his big sister."

"He's just a baby. He doesn't really know anything yet."

Derek chuckles. "Okay, you're right. But what do you think? You like him?"

"Everett's cuter. You should have gotten a sloth instead. Sloths are way cooler than babies. And quieter. _And_ they only poop once a week."

"Well, that would be nice," Derek muses before Riley speaks up.

"I wanna hold my baby!" she demands from her spot on Meredith's lap. "I'm the big sister! He's _my_ brudder!"

"You had your chance, and you didn't want to hold him. Now it's Emme's turn," Meredith points out as she gives Riley a squeeze and kisses the top of her head.

"But I want him!"

"Riley, be pati-"

"She can have him. I have enough brothers and sisters already." Emme tries to hand Brendan back to Derek, but Carolyn steps in.

"Wait a minute. Riley, come sit next to Emme. Let's get a picture of you three with your father.

Emme groans and Riley protests. "No more pictures!"

Carolyn picks the toddler up and sits her next to Emme. "Just one," she promises as Derek slips behind them. "Come on, girls, smile!" she orders; neither one does but Brendan starts fussing so she takes a few hurried shots and admits defeat. "Well, we'll try again another time."

Derek takes the baby and sways as he props him on his shoulder and rubs his back while talking in a low, soothing voice. "It's okay, buddy, it's okay."

Emme takes the opportunity to slip off the bed. "What time is it? Is my mom coming back soon?"

Derek checks the clock. "Not for a while yet."

"Can I go find her? I think I know how to get to PT."

"You're not going by yourself. Just wait. Your mom probably wants to see the baby too."

Emme flops down in a chair with a sigh. "It's _just_ a baby. She sees babies all the time." She leans back and watches her family. Derek is now cradling Brendan in one arm and grinning as he traces the curve of one cheek with his free hand; Carolyn is next to him, cooing baby talk at the infant. Riley, no longer interested in holding the baby now that Emme doesn't have him, is back on Meredith's lap while Meredith runs her fingers through her wispy, dark blonde curls.

After an hour that seems like an eternity Addison and Cecilia arrive in Meredith's room. Cecilia immediately starts squealing. "Where's the baby? I wanna see the baby!"

Derek crouches down in front of her. "This is Brendan."

"Ohhhhhhh, hi baby, hiiiiiii! Oh, he's cute!" She reaches out to pat his face, but Addison grabs her hand.

"No, no. No touching. Just look," Addison orders. Cecilia complies and continues cooing at the baby, though it's obvious it's taking every ounce of restraint she has not to touch him. With Cecilia momentarily entertained she takes the opportunity to hand Meredith a gift bag. "Just a little something for Brendan."

Meredith pulls out a buttery-soft, cream-colored cable knit cashmere coverall. "It's beautiful," she gushes. _And probably expensive_ , she thinks as she eyes the tag inside. _Handmade in Scotland_. "Thank you so much."

"It's a little big. Obviously he won't be needing sweaters any time soon, but I figured with Derek's sisters you'd be set in clothes for a while…"

Derek comes over and inspects the garment. "Very nice. Thank you." _Typical Addison. Heaven forbid she show up with department store onesies or a baby blanket like normal people,_ he thinks, but smiles as he offers her the baby.

She gladly accepts the infant and starts cooing at him. "Oh, hello there! Are you a handsome boy? Yes you are! Oh, you're just beautiful!"

Emme rolls her eyes and sighs loudly more than once; finally Addison takes the hint and passes the baby back to Derek. "Okay, we're gonna get going. Come on, Em. Say goodbye."

Emme's at the door in a heartbeat. "Goodbye."

…..

The next morning, Meredith and Brendan are cleared for discharge. They arrive home just before noon to find a small Amazon box addressed to Derek on the porch. He's carrying the baby so Meredith picks it up. "What's this?"

"Oh, just a little something for Emme," Derek states as the door flies open,and they're greeted enthusiastically by Riley and Carolyn.

"What does Emme need a present for? Her birthday was just last month," Meredith points out once things quiet down.

"It's a big sister present. Riley got a t-shirt _and_ a teddy bear. It's only fair."

"Yeah, I guess," Meredith says as she sets the package on the counter and takes the baby. "Speaking of Emme...I know this is your weekend to have her, but could you maybe...not have her?"

"Why? Mere, what's wrong? I thought you liked Emme."

"I don't... _not_ like her! But I'm tired. I just squeezed eight pounds of baby out a very small opening, and you _know_ how hard it is to sleep in the hospital-"

"You can sleep. I can handle the kids."

"Derek. You know how loud it gets when Emme's here," Meredith points out as she sits down and begins nursing the baby.

"Well, that's because Riley starts-"

"I don't care who starts what! I just gave birth and I want some peace and quiet for a few days! Is that too much to ask?"

"No, I guess not. I'll call Addison once Riley goes down for her nap."

Meredith finishes feeding the baby, then hands him to Derek to be burped and changed. "Okay, pumpkin, it's nap time," she says to Riley as she stands up.

"I don't want a nap!"

"You can sleep in the big bed with mommy."

"Oh, okay!"

Once they're upstairs Derek changes the baby and grabs his phone; he dials Addison, and is surprised when Emme answers. "Hey, kiddo, where's your mom?"

"Annie was jumping on the couch and fell. She hit her head on the coffee table."

 _Well, that explains all the noise._

"Mommy's mad 'cause I was supposed to be watching her. Are you coming to get me now?"

"Well…"

"I _hate_ it here! I hate Annie, and my patents, and the twins, and Ce- well, not really Cece…"

"Em-"

"I'm sick of getting yelled at! Not everything is my fault!"

Derek can tell she's close to tears. "Okay. Tell your mom I'll be there in fifteen minutes. Be ready for me."

Twenty minutes later Derek and Emme are walking through the door. He grabs a gift bag and hands it to her. "This is from Brendan."

"Babies can't shop!"

"Okay, I know, but I helped him. Open it."

Emme grins as she pulls a plush sloth out of the bag. "Hey! This is the one I saw at the zoo!"

"I know. Brendan's really sorry you didn't get to see the sloths at the zoo. We'll go in a few weeks and you can see them for as long as you want."

Emme hugs Derek, then reaches back in the bag. This time she reveals a book about sloths. "Can we read it now?"

"Sure."

An hour later Meredith comes downstairs with Riley and finds Derek and Emme on the couch. "Derek, a word with you…" she says with a nod towards the front door. "What part of "can you not have Emme stay here this weekend?" didn't you understand?" she asks once the door is closed behind them.

"Well, I called but Emme answered, and she was so excited about coming here...how was I supposed to tell her she couldn't come?"

"Easy! ' I'm sorry, Emme, but Meredith's really tired right now so you'll have to come another time.' How hard was that?"

"She's my kid! I have the right to see her, and she has the right to see me."

"That's right. She's _your_ kid. Not mine. And I don't want her here right now."

"Where is all this coming from? You've never had a problem with her until the other day."

"Oh, I have, I just never said anything."

"Are you serious?"

"Yeah, Derek, I am. She's _your_ kid. _You_ knew about her when we got married. _I_ didn't. Had I known about her, I may not have married you. Had I known I was going to be a stepmother, I might have said no, but you took that choice away from me. I got stuck with your kid, and I had no say in it!"

"And _now_ you're mad? More than a year after I told you about her?"

"I had to be nice before! Riley was sick. We needed her. I didn't have the luxury of getting mad then, because there were more important things to worry about. But now...I'm not saying I don't like her, or I don't ever want her here, but right now I can't deal with _your_ kid, and I need you to be on my side."

Suddenly the door opens and Emme steps out, holding the sloth in one hand and the book in the other. "I'll just go home. I can walk," she says sadly, eyes downcast, while they both stand there open-mouthed as they realize the front windows are open.

"Emme-"

"It's okay if you don't want me. No one else does…"

"Okay, Em, you're not going anywhere. You're staying right here," Derek says decisively as Meredith's eyes open wide.

 **Okay, that was a little angsty! Oops! Anyways, you know the drill! Feed my ego with reviews to make me update faster!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Okay, sorry for the delay yet again. We've had houseguests for over a week, and they'll be here another week and a half, so my writing time is limited. This chapter goes out to winter machine, because it never would have gotten written without her nagging me.**

" _Okay, Em, you're not going anywhere. You're staying right here," Derek says decisively as Meredith's eyes open wide._

"No, I just wanna go home." Emme avoids Meredith's gaze as she slips past her and Derek on the porch and hops down the steps.

"Emme, wait-" Meredith begins, but Derek holds up a hand to silence her.

"I think you've said enough. I'll deal with this," he interrupts brusquely before hurrying to catch up with Emme, who is making good headway down the long driveway leading to the road. "Emme, come on. Let's go back inside."

"You go back inside! I'm going home!" Her chin is held high, tears kept at bay so far, but the tremor in her voice is unmistakable.

"You can't walk home alone. It's not safe." _And your mother would have my head._ It's a rural road, with no sidewalk, and the distance between the houses is several miles; the trip takes five minutes, tops, by car and traffic is fairly light, but a six-year-old walking it alone is definitely out of the question.

"Well take me home, then!"

When they get to the end of the driveway he turns her around and, with one hand on her back, starts leading her back towards the house. "Let's go for a walk."

She stops. "But my house is _that_ way."

"We're not going to your house. We're going that way." He points to the woods at the back of their yard, then eyes Emme. She's wearing a floral sundress and pink sandals - not exactly hiking attire, but she'll be okay as long as they stick to the trail. "How about we leave these here?" he suggests and reaches for the book and stuffed animal in her arms.

She hugs them to her chest. "No! They're mine!"

"I know they are. And they'll be right here when we get back. Nobody will touch them," he promises. Reluctantly she lets go, and he sets them on the table on the back deck before heading for the beginning of the trail.

"So, what Meredith said...how much did you hear?" he asks after a few minutes of walking in silence.

"That she doesn't want me here. And she wouldn't have married you if she knew about me." She takes a deep, shaky breath and looks up at him. "Am I really _that_ bad? Why doesn't she like me? What did I do? _Everybody_ is always mad at me, and I don't even know why!"

"Nobody is mad at you."

Emme looks skeptical. "Mommy was mad earlier. And Meredith is mad."

"Meredith isn't mad at you. She's mad at me."

"She's mad because you're my dad and she doesn't like me."

"Em, she does like you. It's just...she just had a baby. When women have babies there's a lot going on in their bodies, and it makes them feel kind of...grumpy, sometimes. She's tired and sore so she's not too happy right now."

"But that's not my fault!"

"I know it isn't. But she needs it to be quiet right now, and sometimes you and Riley argue and get a little loud…"

"But she starts it! She never wants to share or take turns, and _everyone_ is _always_ on _her_ side!"

"Em, no one is taking sides. But she's little, so she gets away with a lot of things. It's not easy being the oldest, is it?"

Emme scuffs the toe of one sandal in the dirt path, stirring up a cloud of dust. "How do you know? You're not the oldest!"

"No, but I remember how it was for my sisters. They had to keep an eye on me and Amy - like your parents expect you to do with Cece and Annie - and had to do chores, and were expected to behave all the time while me and Amy…" He shakes his head and laughs. "We were so bad sometimes, and we got away with everything."

"Just like Riley. And Annie. She's not supposed to jump on the couch, but she did. And then she fell and mommy yelled at me, but it wasn't my fault! Annie just doesn't listen! She's so bad!"

"She's not bad. She's just a baby and doesn't know any better," Derek reminds Emme as he cups the back of her head and strokes her short, dark locks; with a sigh she takes his hand and clasps it tightly. "I don't think your mom was mad at you. She was probably scared that Annie got hurt, that's all. She didn't mean to yell at you."

"Well, she did."

"I know. I'm sorry she did that."

…..

Meredith heads back inside and finds Carolyn in the kitchen making tea, Brendan resting on her shoulder. "Guess I'm out of the running for stepmother of the year…"

Carolyn shrugs and replies nonchalantly. "We all have off days."

"It's just that it gets so loud when she's here. All the bickering and whining, the _that's not fair_ , and _she started it_ and _you love her best_. Every time she comes over! It never ends!"

"She's trying to find her place in this family, figure out where she ranks compared to Riley...and now, I'm sure, Brendan too...and I think she feels threatened by Riley. And in Emme's defense, Riley usually is the instigator."

"She's two! She's a baby, she doesn't know any better. Emme has enough little siblings, she should know not to egg Riley on...or clobber her with a potato masher."

Carolyn has to suppress a snicker at that memory. "She's tall for her age, and...a bit precocious. An old soul. It's easy to forget she's still little, too...I should know, I do it myself. And it's easy to put higher expectations on the oldest in the family. Again, I have five, I should know. But at the end of the day, she's just a six-year-old girl and sometimes you need to take a deep breath and remind yourself of that."

"But she's just so... _over the top_! I was not prepared for an emotional trainwreck! I mean, she was kind of a mess last summer, but I thought she'd be over it by now! It's exhausting, you know?" Meredith pauses to take a breath, and Carolyn nods slowly. "She cries over the stupidest little things, then there's the nightmares, and bedwetting, the constant need for approval and reassurance...it's a lot to handle!"

"It is. But her whole world has been turned upside down in the last year. She discovered that the man she thought was her father really isn't her father...went through some scary medical stuff for a sister she never knew existed...watched another sister go through three major surgeries...her mother had twins...and they moved clear across the country. And now she has another baby brother. That's a lot to handle when you're six, and - not to pass judgment on any parties involved - I don't think she's had much of an outlet for her feelings so they come out in other ways."

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Meredith agrees reluctantly. "But it's not like I told Derek she could _never_ be here! I just wanted a quiet weekend! One quiet weekend with my new baby. Is that so wrong?"

"Of course not. He shouldn't have gone against your wishes, or at least had the decency to warn you that Emme was coming despite your request. And, quite frankly, he's the one responsible for this whole situation in general so be mad at him. Take it out on him. Not Emme. She's just an innocent victim caught up in this mess. Like you. If you're going to get mad, get mad at Derek. But try to cut Emme some slack until she finds her footing."

…..

"Hey, I'm home!"

"Daddy!"

Mark makes his way to the kitchen and finds Addison at the stove. The twins are in their bouncy chairs, Annie is in the high chair banging the tray with plastic measuring cups, and Cecilia is at the table coloring. "There's my sunshine!" he says as he scoops Cecilia up. "I missed you!"

She pats his cheek and giggles at the scratchiness of his beard. "I missed you too!"

He kisses her cheek, which makes her squeal, before setting her back in her chair. "Were you good today?"

"Yes! I was _so good_!"

"I bet you were! And how about this one?" he asks as he lifts Annie from the highchair. He frowns at the shiner under one eye and turns to Addison. "What happened to my little hurricane?"

"She was jumping on the couch and fell off."

"Did you get her checked out?" he asks as he examines her pupils.

"She's fine. No signs of a concussion. I did graduate from med school too, you know."

"Probably should have gotten a head CT anyways," he mutters as he sits down with Annie on his lap. "And if you knew she was jumping on the couch why didn't you stop her?"

"I was upstairs changing Cece after therapy, and Emme was supposed to be keeping an eye on her…"

"Emme's six. She's not a nanny."

"Yeah, so she told me the other day," Addison snaps with an eye roll. "It was five minutes! Maybe if we _had_ a nanny I wouldn't have to rely on my six-year-old to babysit."

"And that's _my_ fault?"

"You're the one who turned away all three that I picked after the initial interviews."

"Well, one was too old, one was too young, and the other one...had tattoos. And a nose piercing."

"And they were all great! I know we need to be a bit more careful after the last one, but we need to hire someone because I can not handle all five of them by myself!"

"Obviously."

"Really, Mark? Okay, since I'm such a lousy mother-"

"I did not say that!"

"You've been implying it practically since you got home! So how about I go back to work, and you stay here all day. See how well you do."

"Oh, you're being ridiculous!" Mark taunts before Cecilia tips over her cup of milk. He jumps up as the liquid splashes over the edge of the table and soaks both his and Annie's clothes. "I'm going to change her," he huffs as he storms off, leaving Addison to deal with the mess.

…..

Derek and Emme walk until they she starts lagging behind, clearly running out of steam; he hadn't realized they'd walked so far. "We better go back. It's almost dinner time," he says as he grabs her and sits her on his shoulders.

"So, are you taking me home now?" she asks as she plays with his hair.

"Do you _want_ to go home? It didn't sound like you wanted to be there when I called."

She sighs. "No. But I don't want Meredith to be mean either."

"I won't let her be mean, if you promise to be quiet. If Riley starts bothering you, just walk away and let me or grandma deal with her, okay?"

"Okay."

When they get to the house he sets her down so she can get her stuffed animal and book, and opens the door to let her in. Emme eyes Meredith warily, relaxing only slightly when Meredith smiles at her, and curls up on the couch; Riley's in the play area with Carolyn, so Emme figures she's safe there.

…..

"So, you _really_ don't want Emme here, and you wouldn't have married me if you knew about her?" Derek asks once Emme and Riley are tucked into their beds and Brendan is asleep in the bassinet by Meredith's side of the bed.

"I...I don't know," Meredith admits. "Probably not. Not because of her," she adds hastily. "I guess it would depend on the situation. Like, if you told me about her, but you weren't involved in her life...I probably would have thought you were a terrible person and dumped you, because if you could do that to her, what would you do to _our_ children? And if it was different...you actually did see her and have shared custody...I wasn't ready for kids then. It probably would have scared me off. So no, I don't think I would have married you."

"But you did. 'For better and for worse.' Maybe this is the 'worse.'"

"No, Derek. Riley getting sick? _That_ was the ' worse.' This is just you being an asshole. But...but I talked to your mom, and she made some good points. I'm mad at you. Not Emme. It was wrong of me to say what I said, and she's welcome here any time. A little warning would be nice, but I won't stop her from seeing you."

"Really?"

"Really."


	9. Chapter 9

The next morning Emme wakes up and goes downstairs in search of Derek. Instead, she finds only Meredith who is on the couch with Brendan.

Meredith watches Emme for a minute. "Emme, you need something?" she finally asks.

"Um, no. Just looking for my dad," Emme replies timidly; Meredith had been civil enough the night before, but she's still a little uncomfortable after her stepmother's outburst.

"He was up most of the night with Brendan, so he's sleeping now. Do you want me to get you breakfast?"

"No, that's okay. I'll wait for my dad. Or grandma."

Meredith bites her lip and tries to decide how much to tell Emme. "Honey, grandma's not here right now. Your parents had to...go somewhere, so she's at your house."

Emme's eyes widen. "Why? Did something happen? Did Cece have another seizure? Is she okay?" she blurts out, clearly distressed.

"No, she's fine. She didn't have a seizure. Nothing happened to Cece," Meredith assures her. _Can't say the same for Annie_ , she thinks, but Emme is clearly relieved that Cecilia is okay so she leaves that detail out for the time being.

"So, where _did_ they g-" Emme starts to ask, only to be interrupted by Riley yelling and rattling the baby gate at the top of the stairs.

"Mommy? Daddy? I'm hungry!"

"Okay, I'm coming!" Meredith calls. "Hey, Em, you want to hold your brother for a minute?" she asks hesitantly, remembering Emme's indifference to the baby at the hospital.

Emme does her best to be nonchalant; she's still a little hurt over the t-shirt incident, but she's finding it hard to suppress her natural inclination to smother any and all babies within a five-mile radius with affection. "Um, yeah, I guess so," she finally answers casually as she makes her way to the couch, and fights the urge to smile when the swaddled bundle is placed in her lap.

Meredith hurries upstairs and picks Riley up. After hugs and kisses she brings the toddler to her room. "No! I wanna eat!" Riley protests loudly as Meredith sets her on the changing table. "No change! I want faffles!"

"You can't eat until you get changed. If you hold still you'll get your waffles quicker," Meredith tries to reason, though she might as well be talking to the wall.

"Who is making all this noise?" Derek grumbles as he enters the room still rubbing sleep from his eyes before leaning in to kiss Meredith.

"Daddy! I want faffles!"

"Oh you do, huh? Well how about you stay still and let mommy change you, and I'll go make waffles. Deal?"

Riley growls. "Okay, fine!"

Derek heads to the kitchen, and Meredith finishes changing Riley and getting her dressed. When they go downstairs, Riley makes a beeline for Emme. "Hey, that's my brudder. I wanna hold him," she demands as she climbs up on the couch and throws herself against Emme, jostling the baby.

Meredith swoops in and rescues Brendan as he starts to wail. "You have to be gentle," she scolds, but Riley hops down and retrieves a book from the coffee table.

"Mommy, read!"

"I can't read right now, because you made your brother cry."

"But I want to read!"

"I can read it to you," Emme offers before the tantrum reaches full steam. Riley considers the offer for a minute before climbing back up on the couch. Soon the girls are engrossed in the story, and Meredith joins Derek in the kitchen.

"Where's my mother? She never sleeps this late," Derek muses as he pours batter into the waffle maker.

"Babysitting. Mark called about an hour and a half ago. Annie got out of her crib, climbed over the baby gate, and fell down the stairs."

Derek's head snaps up. "Oh geez. Is she okay?"

Meredith shrugs. "He said she never lost consciousness, and there didn't appear to be any spinal cord injuries, but she seemed to be in a lot of pain. Obviously they called an ambulance."

"Does Emme know?"

"No. All I told her is that your mom went to babysit because her parents had to go somewhere. I didn't want to say anything until we know more."

"Yeah, that's good. You know how much she worries."

By the time Derek has enough waffles for everyone, Riley is in Emme's lap and they're halfway through their fourth book. "I almost hate to break this up," he murmurs to his wife before calling to the girls. "Emme, Riley, breakfast is ready!"

Riley shoves the book away and scurries to the kitchen, Emme hot on her heels. Soon they're devouring the waffles, Emme's with maple syrup and blueberries, Riley's with whipped cream and strawberries.

"You got it on your nose," Emme says with a giggle, pointing out a blob of whipped cream on her sister's face. Riley swipes at it with the back of her hand and only succeeds in spreading it across her cheek. Grabbing a napkin Emme wipes it off, but barely a minute later Riley's a mess again. "You're such a slob!" she teases. Just as she gets close enough to wipe Riley's face again, Riley reaches out and smears a dollop of whipped cream on Emme's cheek, sending both girls into a fit of laughter.

"See? They're not so bad together," Derek points out.

Meredith raises an eyebrow. "No, they're not," she agrees, "but _you_ get to clean up the mess when they're done."

…..

After breakfast, Derek packs bottles of water and some light snacks and takes the girls out on the trail to burn off some energy so Meredith can have peace and quiet with Brendan. They don't get all that far, with the girls pausing to inspect every wildflower, pinecone and acorn they come across, but after an hour and a half Riley starts getting tired so Derek loads her into the carrier on his back and they head for home. Without Riley's little legs slowing them down, they make it back in under forty-five minutes.

Emme grabs her sloth and curls up on the couch. It doesn't take Riley long to join her and reach for the stuffed animal. "I want that!" Emme just holds it close and looks at Derek; Meredith's in the room, so she doesn't want to argue, but she's not about to hand over the coveted toy.

"Riley, no. That's not yours."

Riley pouts at Derek. "But I want one!"

"You got a teddy bear, remember? Where's your teddy bear?"

"No, I want _that_!" Riley insists, and reaches again.

This time Riley snags a leg, and Emme gasps as she hears a tearing sound. Her eyes dart from Derek to Meredith; she's clearly afraid to break her promise to Derek, but she doesn't want her toy destroyed, either.

Luckily - for Emme, at least - Derek intervenes and scoops Riley up after rescuing the sloth's threatened limb from her grasp. "Riley, I told you 'no.' Now you can sit in time out."

This only causes the tantrum to escalate. Riley twists and thrashes and screams as Derek carries her to the time-out chair in the corner. "No time out! I want the monkey! I want it!"

"No, it's Emme's toy. You have a lot of toys," Derek says sternly as he sets Riley on the chair.

As soon as her bottom hits the seat she springs up and scoots around Derek to run to Meredith and scramble up into her lap. "Mommy, Emme's not sharing! I want it!"

Meredith takes a deep breath and bites her tongue, fighting the urge to beg Emme to share for the sake of peace and quiet. It's not fair, really, when Riley has a whole bedroom and play area overflowing with toys, to ask the six-year-old to surrender her brand-new stuffed animal. But the crying and screaming is giving her a headache, and it's woken the baby…

She's saved from having to intervene when Derek promptly removes Riley from her lap. "It's not yours. Now you sit here until I tell you to get up," he orders, but Riley clings to him for dear life when he tries to set her down"

"No time out! I don't like it! Daddy I don't like it!" Her words are punctuated by gasps and coughing fits, her face beet red and nose running.

"Derek, she's just overtired. Why don't you go put her down for a nap?" Meredith suggests in a tone that indicates it really isn't a suggestion at all.

Riley flails in Derek's arms. "No nap! No nap!"

"Because it's almost lunch time, not nap time. And because she needs to know there are consequences for her behavior," he replies firmly, raising his voice above Riley's outburst and Brendan's wails.

Meredith turns to pass Brendan to Emme, but realizes the girl has vanished. She lays him on the couch instead and approaches Derek.

"Forget consequences! She's tired, I'm tired, and this isn't helping anything!" Meredith takes Riley and retreats to the master bedroom, leaving Derek to deal with the crying infant.

It takes half an hour, but he finally gets Brendan back to sleep. With the boy snoozing in the pack 'n play Derek creeps upstairs. It's quiet, and when he peeks in the master bedroom he finds mother and daughter fast asleep, Riley's little hand still clutching Meredith's shirt. He fixes the covers and goes in search of Emme. She's not in her room, or the guest room where Carolyn's been staying. The bathrooms, laundry room, and kitchen are all vacant. She can't be outside - he would have heard the door, surely - but he's starting to get nervous.

Finally he looks in the study and is relieved to hear a faint sniffle. Crouching down, he finds Emme under the desk peering up at him with watery eyes and hugging the fought-over sloth.

"Please don't make me go home," she begs. "Please?"

He moves the chair and sits on the floor. "Em, you don't have to-"

"I don't want to go home! I want to stay here. I was trying _so hard_ to be quiet _._ "

"Hey, calm down. You don't have to go anywhere," he says softly as he reaches over and pulls her into his lap. "You've been so quiet today, and so good with Riley. That wasn't your fault. Sometimes toddlers just don't behave when they're tired. But you probably know that already, huh?"

Emme nods as little as she snuggles up to him. "Yeah. But Meredith's mad."

"She's not mad. Remember how I said mommies sometimes don't feel so good after they have a baby? She's still tired, and sore, and she got a little cranky but she's taking a nap now so she'll feel better later. She's not mad at you, and she won't make you go home."

Emme looks up at him, a lone tear still clinging to her impossibly long lashes. "Promise?"

He brushes the tear away and smiles down at her. "I promise."

With Emme in better spirits they head to the kitchen and make sandwiches for lunch. Derek sets some aside for Meredith and Riley, carefully lifts the still-sleeping baby from the pack 'n play, and they take their lunch to the table on the deck to enjoy some sunshine.

The rest of the day passes uneventfully. Meredith and Riley's moods are much improved after a two-hour nap, and Meredith and Derek spend most of the afternoon on the deck with Brendan, watching the girls play in the yard until dinnertime.

Dinner is shepherd's pie - one of the many meals Carolyn stocked their freezer with - and a salad Derek threw together. There are strawberries and whipped cream in the fridge, so Derek makes a quick trip to the store for angel food cake for a dessert he knows will make Emme happy.

After dinner everyone piles onto the couch for a movie - Riley picked a Veggietales DVD and Emme went along with it - and then it's bath time. For story time Emme reads aloud from her new book, and even lets Riley hold the sloth until she falls asleep. Then Derek carries Emme to her own room, and is tucking her in when he hears the front door open.

When Emme's asleep he creeps downstairs and finds his mother in the kitchen making herself a cup of tea. "Well, that was a long day. Everything okay?" he asks as he pulls up a chair.

"Broken leg and a concussion, poor thing," Carolyn says with a shake of her head. "They're keeping her overnight, just as a precaution, but she'll be okay, thank God. It's a miracle she didn't break her neck."

Derek nods and accepts the mug his mother hands him. "She's something else, that kid."

Carolyn chuckles. "Nothing but trouble, just like her father. She keeps them on their toes, that's for sure." She pauses to sip her tea. "How was everything here today?"

"Not bad. There was a little...meltdown, before lunch, but nothing a nap couldn't fix."

"And the baby?"

"He's fussier than Riley was, but not bad."

"That's good." Carolyn finishes her tea and gets up. "Well, I'm on babysitting duty again tomorrow until they get home, so I'm hitting the sack," she says, and drops a kiss on the top of his head before heading upstairs.

The next morning is gray and gloomy. Carolyn is gone long before Derek gets up so he takes the girls with him to pick up a few things at the grocery store, then stops at the bakery and lets them pick out treats, which they gobble up on the way home.

By the time they arrive Meredith is awake, sipping coffee and reading the Sunday paper at the kitchen table while Brendan snoozes in his swing nearby. Riley flings herself at Meredith and chatters excitedly. "Mommy, we got donuts! I got to pick one out!"

"You did? Let me guess...you got a chocolate one with pink frosting and sprinkles?"

Riley's eyes open wide as she gasps. "How did you know?"

Meredith laughs and brushes some crumbs off her face. "Magic. And what did you get, Emme?"

Emme looks up from the groceries she's helping Derek put away, a bit surprised at Meredith's friendly tone. "Oh, a blueberry muffin. It was this big!" she says, making a circle with her hands. "And it had sugar on top. It was so good!"

"I bet it was," Meredith says as Derek hands her a small, white paper bag. She peers inside and pulls out a chocolate croissant. "But not as good as this!"

Riley paws at her shirt. "I want some! You share?"

Meredith breaks off a small piece, which seems to appease the toddler. "Just a little. I don't want you getting a tummy ache."

Riley accepts a sippy cup of milk from Derek, then grand Emme's hand. "Come on. Play."

Emme follows Riley. "Okay, what are we playing?"

"Um...this." Riley pulls a Memory game off the shelf, opens the box, and dumps the cards on the floor.

"Okay. But I don't think we need all those cards," she says, speaking from experience after playing with Cecilia many times. She quickly matches the cards up and out a half back in the box to make the game less frustrating for her little sister.

Together they flip the cards over, mix them up, and arrange them in neat rows. Emme lets Riley go first, and pretends not to notice when she peeks at several cards before making her selections. "Look! Mommy cat, and baby cat! I did it!"

"You did! Good job." Emme flips over two cards - a lion, and a fluffy yellow chick.

"Those don't match. My turn!" Riley announces gleefully.

The game ends with Riley winning by a landslide; they continue playing peacefully until lunchtime, then Emme and Meredith play with the full set while Riley naps and Derek gives his wife a break from the baby.

The weather clears after lunch, so Derek and the girls take Sully for a walk in the woods, then spend some time grooming him and playing with him in the yard until dinner. Carolyn is home by then and serves up a hearty beef stew and buttermilk biscuits.

After dinner Derek helps Emme collect her things. "Do I really have to go?" she whines after a round of hugs from everyone. Despite Meredith's initial annoyance and the Saturday afternoon incident it has been a relatively peaceful and relaxing weekend, and she's reluctant to return to the chaos of home.

"Yes, you do. I bet your brother and sisters miss you," Derek says as he guides her to the car. Once she's buckled in he takes a deep breath. "Em, there's something I have to tell you before you go home. The reason grandma had to Go babysit is because Annie got hurt yesterday morning. She fell down the stairs-"

Emme's eyes immediately widen in panic. "Why was she on the stairs? How come no one was watching her?"

Derek takes her hand. "Hey. It was an accident, okay?"

"But she's just a baby! Someone's 'possed to watch her!"

"I know, but it was an accident. Accidents happen. Anyways, she broke her leg and she had to stay in the hospital overnight, but she's okay and she's home now. She's fine, so you don't have to worry, okay? I just wanted to tell you now so you wouldn't worry when you see her cast."

"But she's really okay?"

"She's really okay. And maybe it'll keep her out of trouble for a little while," he jokes as he tweaks Emme's nose, making her laugh a little.

"Yeah, I doubt it."

When they arrive at Emme's house, Emme rings the bell. Addison answers with Everett in her arms, looking frazzled. Annie is nowhere to be seen, but can be heard crying - loudly.

"So, I hear you had a little excitement," Derek says lightly as Emme runs off to find Annie. "Is she okay?"

"Never a dull moment with that one. She's pretty miserable. She usually sleeps on her tummy but she can't with the cast, and she has four staples in the back of her head so that hurts if she lays on her back. The only way she'll sleep is with one of us holding her, and even then…" She sighs and shakes her head before continuing. "So she's exhausted, and in pain, and just generally miserable. But anyways. Everything go okay with Emme?"

"Well, actually, I was hoping we could t-" Derek starts before someone else starts crying. Georgia, he thinks.

She gives him an apologetic smile. "I better go. Mark's with Annie, so I gotta get her. But I'll call you later when things calm down, if that's okay?"

"Yeah, that's fine." He goes home and waits for the call, but it never comes.


	10. Chapter 10

Addison never gets a chance to call Derek because Annie refuses to be put down, leaving one of them to juggle four kids while the other holds her. It's after nine by the time Addison manages to get Cecilia and the twins to bed and has a chance to tuck Emme in.

"So, did you have a good time with your father?" she asks after making sure Emme brushed her teeth and getting her settled under the covers.

"Yeah, mostly…"

"What do you mean 'mostly?' Did something bad happen?" Addison asks, remembering that Derek had wanted to talk. "Baby, are you okay?"

"Yeah, it's just...I don't think Meredith likes me too much. Dad said she does, but she didn't want me there," Emme admits hesitantly as she fastens her sloth's Velcro hands around her neck.

Addison narrows her eyes. "She told you that?"

"No. Her and dad were talking outside, but the window was open. She was really mad that he let me come over."

"You shouldn't listen when other people are having a private conversation," Addison chastises gently. "But she probably didn't mean it. Remember when the twins came home from the hospital, and I just wanted to stay in bed for a few days?"

"Yeah."

"Well, she probably feels the same way. She's probably tired and needs to get some rest. Maybe next time we'll call your dad first and see if she feels better, and if not we'll figure out another time for you to see him. Okay?"

"Okay."

"And was everything okay besides that?"

"Yeah. We went out in the woods, and played games, and dad made waffles for breakfast one day. And the other day we got donuts. It was fun. And a lot quieter than it is here."

Addison laughs. "Most places are."

"It was nice."

"I bet it was. Now, it's way past your bedtime. Goodnight." Addison gives Emme a hug and kiss, then tucks her in. She turns the nightlight on and leaves the door open a crack before creeping down the hall to Annie's room. The toddler is clearly overtired, crying in jagged bursts as Mark paces the floor, looking every bit as exhausted as she is. She offers to take over, even though she spent several hours trying to get Annie to sleep while Mark took care of dinner and baths.

He turns down the offer. "She should be asleep soon. She just had her pain meds," he says, and she doesn't ask twice. She heads to bed, but finds it impossible to sleep while her baby cries down the hall. Eventually she convinces Mark to bring her to bed with them.

This does the trick, at least temporarily, as Annie dozes off soon after. Addison is on the verge of sleep, almost fooling herself into thinking she may get a few uninterrupted hours of slumber, when the little redhead tucked between Mark and herself starts shifting, growling in frustration when her attempt to roll over is unsuccessful, thanks to the cumbersome cast. "Shh, shh it's okay," Addison soothes quietly as she tries to reposition her, but Annie is only getting more agitated so she carefully lifts the girl and creeps down the hall.

Just as they get to the cheery yellow bedroom where Mark spent a solid two hours rocking before giving up on getting Annie to sleep by herself, Annie requests milk, so Addison changes course. In the kitchen she straps Annie into Cecilia's booster seat - the high chair is too much trouble with the cast - to free up her hands and grabs a sippy cup. Annie bounces frantically in her seat, lets out a whimper that threatens to turn into something much worse and points to a rack of bottles drying on the counter.

 _Bottles are for babies_ is the first thing that pops into Addison's head. But her daughter's bottom lip, swollen from the fall, is trembling, and at seventeen months, few people would argue that she's anything but a baby so Addison keeps her thought to herself and reaches for a bottle instead. "You want a bottle?"

"Baba." Annie nods in confirmation and swipes at one teary blue eye with a pudgy fist as she watches her mother pour the milk.

With Annie pacified, if only briefly, Addison lugs her to the living room, thinking they might catch some sleep in the recliner; however, a patch of light on the floor catches her eye and she goes to the window instead. The moon is full and bright, the sky cloudless. "Look at the moon. Isn't it pretty?"

Annie snacks the window pane with one palm and plucks the bottle from her lips. "Moo. Go ow?"

Addison considers the request. Annie's clad in nothing but a onesie, having no pajamas that fit over her cast, but it's late July - there might be a slight chill in the air this time of night, but it's definitely not cold so she grabs a blanket and makes her way out the back door to the patio and the porch swing she insisted on buying but hasn't used once.

It takes a bit of shifting and adjusting - and more than a little fussing from Annie - but eventually they're settled comfortably on the swing, wrapped in the blanket and gazing up at the sky. "Look at all the stars," Addison says points up.

"'tars," Annie mimics in her sweet little voice before a flicker of light a few feet away distracts her. "Oh! What dat?"

"That's a firefly. There are lots of them, see?"

"Ohhhh, fie fie."

"That's right, firefly."

The full moon casts the entire yard in soft light, and they can see all the way back to where the lawn meets to woods. A rustling noise grabs their attention before something small and furry emerges. "Annie, what's that? Is it a bunny?"

Annie squeals happily. "Bubba!"

An hour passes, Addison chattering softly about the wildlife that appears from the woods - several bunnies, a raccoon, a possum, and a family of what Annie calls "tickies," though Addison is fairly certain are skunks, not kitties; she sighs in relief when move away from the house rather than towards it - or swoops down from the sky, including numerous bats, a few moths, and a...hawk? Owl? Whatever it is, it's huge and snags something from the grass before flying away.

As the night wears on, Addison thinks back to when Emme was small, and she talked to her almost non-stop - when she got her dressed in the morning, or cooked dinner at night; on walks in the park, and trips to the grocery store. Always talking, and before long Emme was talking back, her language exploding almost overnight. There are meticulously-kept lists in her baby book to prove it, added to every month as her vocabulary expanded.

It's different with Annie. Third-child syndrome is a real thing, she's coming to realize. Did she ever do that with Annie? If she's honest, she can't even remember the last time she actually talked to her besides the never-ending " _don't touch that," "take that out of your mouth,"_ or " _get down from there!"_ There certainly aren't lists in a baby book - _do I even have a baby book for her?_ \- and suddenly she's not even sure what the girl's first word was after "mama" and "dada." And how many words does she say? Is she on track? She does know that, while Annie babbles constantly, her vocabulary is nowhere near what Emme's was at this age. _Maybe she needs speech therapy..._

As Annie drifts off to sleep, the empty bottle slipping from her fingers and landing with a thud on the stone, she can't help but wonder, if only fleetingly, if her daughter would have been better off with another family. Someone younger. A stay-at-home mom with time for daily walks to the park and play dates, mommy-and-me swimming classes and baby yoga. A dad with a nine-to-five job and enough energy to chase her around the yard and give horsey rides before bed. The kind of parents that would gently redirect her attention instead of scolding her for pulling out the supposedly baby-proof outlet covers _again_ or climbing on the kitchen table, that wouldn't let her fall off a couch or tumble down the stairs.

With a sigh she kisses Annie's warm forehead. "I'm sorry you got stuck with me," she murmurs into her daughter's silky hair. "You deserve so much better than this. You should've had a good mommy."

She doesn't hear the door open, and she startles when Mark sits next to her moments later. If he'd heard anything she said, he gives no indication.

"You weren't in bed, or her room, or on the couch. I was starting to wonder if you went down to the lake to drown her."

She hugs Annie a little tighter. "Very funny."

"Wasn't trying to be," he answers gruffly as he reaches over to tug the blanket down over Annie's exposed toes peeking out of the obnoxiously pink cast. "I mean, people do that, sometimes, when they don't want their kids..."

It feels like someone has jabbed a knife into her guts and twisted it. She squeezes her eyes shut against the tears that come against her will. "I never said I don't want her," she hisses as her mind goes back not forty-eight hours ago to one of the worst moments of her life.

 _It's not quite seven o'clock, and she's starting the day in one of her least-favorite ways - changing a diaper that failed to perform its duty - while Mark snores down the hall. They've recently introduced the twins to solid food, and while Everett seems to have no problem with it whatsoever, the sweet potatoes they had last night apparently didn't agree with his twin's tummy, leaving Addison with sheets that need to be changed, a baby who needs a bath, and a brand-new sleeper that will probably end up in the trash._

 _She has Georgia stripped, the worst of the mess cleaned up with wipes, when a series of thumps sends her heart racing; she's not sure what's worse, the final thud or the moment of deafening silence that follows, but it's relieving when, after depositing the naked baby back in her crib, she makes it to the top of the stairs in time to see Annie take a deep breath._ Must've just knocked the wind out of her, _she thinks while simultaneously struggling to open the baby gate and yelling for Mark._

 _Somehow he'd slept through the fall, and emerges just as Annie begins to wail. "Jesus, Addison, weren't you watching her?" he snaps as he takes the stairs two at a time._

" _No, I was sipping champagne and eating bon bons," she spits back as she snatches the t-shirt her husband has just taken off and presses it to the back of Annie's head to stem the flow of blood. "I was dealing with a blowout while you slept in! I didn't even know she was awake!"_

 _He's checking Annie's pupils. "Since when is seven o'clock on a Saturday sleeping in?"_

" _Since_ you _decided two kids weren't enough! Now shut up and get the goddamn phone!"_

 _The rest is a blur, from the ambulance ride to the agonizing hour spent being grilled by a stern-looking social worker - Addison wasn't sure what was worse about that, the fact that they were being accused of harming their child, or that Mark pulled away when she tried to take his hand and refused to look at her - to the moment they were finally allowed to see Annie, still groggy and glassy-eyed from the sedative used to keep her still for the CT scan._

"I only agreed to have another baby because you wanted to try for a boy," she finally admits, her voice softer this time, "but that doesn't mean I don't _want_ her. I don't regret having her. I can't imagine not having her...and I'm glad we don't have to."

He nods slowly. "Yeah, me too." They sit in silence for a few minutes, swinging gently. "I can take her," he finally offers, sounding less harsh than before. "You should get some sleep."

"I'm not tired," she snaps, and is instantly aware of how much she sounds like their pre-schooler trying to avoid a nap - usually when she needs it the most.

She's not the only one who notices. "Okay, Cecilia," he retorts, sounding almost playful, and makes no move to take Annie. They sit quietly a little longer before he breaks the silence again. "You're not a bad mom, you know."

She snorts, pulls the blanket tighter around their sleeping daughter as she watches a frog - _or is it a toad? What's the difference? -_ hop across the patio in front of them. "I'm basically my mother."

"Addison, you're nothing like Bizzy."

"Ask my mother when I took my first steps, or what my first word was. I guarantee she couldn't tell you. When did Annie start walking? It was in the fall, I remember she was an early walker, but was it October? November? I...I don't remember."

He shrugs, apparently not sure himself. "I don't know when she took Her first steps. But her first word was dada," he informs her a bit smugly.

" _All_ babies say dada first. It's easier than mama," she says, hoping to knock him down a few pegs. "I mean after that."

"I have no clue," he finally admits. "Call Lisa. I bet she knows."

"I shouldn't _have_ to call Lisa!" she scoffs, and Annie whimpers but doesn't wake up.

"We were busy last year. Cece's surgeries, that whole mess with Emme...it doesn't make you a bad mom."

She ponders that for a moment. "I fell down the stairs when I was little. A bit older than her, two and a half, maybe three. Split my lip and broke my arm. It was the nanny's day off so Bizzy was stuck with me. I saw her lying at the bottom of the stairs and all I could think was that I'm officially as bad as Bizzy now."

"Did you have to scale a crib rail and a baby gate to get to the stairs?"

"I was little. I don't remember much but I doubt Bizzy had baby gates cluttering up the Montgomery estate. Honestly, all I really remember is Bizzy picking me up and holding me an arm's length away and scolding me for playing on the stairs while I was bleeding all over and calling for Sofia...that was the nanny. She was so mad about that, she fired Sofia the next day. Sofia was Archer's favorite nanny...he _never_ let me live that one down. And to this day, Bizzy grumbles about the year I ruined the annual Christmas card photo because my arm was in a cast."

"Well, if it's any consolation Annie's cast will be off long before we have to worry about Christmas card photos," Mark offers seriously, but laughs when she smacks him in the arm. "Okay, that is pretty awful. But let me ask you this. Did Bizzy come home and make your favorite foods for you?" She shakes her head. "And did she sit up all night holding you?"

Addison laughs wryly. "She put me in my room and threatened to spank me when I got up and tried to get in her bed."

"Okay. And who was Annie crying for when we got back to her room?"

The corners of her mouth twitch and she finds herself smiling. "Me."

"So you're nothing like your mother. Look, I know I was...kind of a jerk yesterday. I panicked. I said things I didn't mean. You're not a bad mom, and Annie didn't get stuck with you. She's lucky to have you for a mom."

Addison shakes her head. "I don't know about lucky. But I guess she could have it worse."

"A _lot_ worse."

She's still not convinced. "I was a good mom when it was just us and Emme. Right? She's smart, and kind, and well-behaved...I was good with her-"

"Red, you _are_ good. With Emme, with Cece...and with Annie and the twins. I know you're doubting yourself because of Annie's accident, but there's nothing anyone could have done. We had the gate up. She's an animal. A wild animal-"

"I once referred to her as a wolverine," Addison admits with a chuckle.

"Not an inaccurate description. She's a mess. She's into everything. And we did predict she'd be the first to break a bone, even if it happened sooner than expected. The only way we could have prevented this is locking her in her room, and I'm pretty sure she'd find some other way to hurt herself then. So let it go. It happened, and she survived. Consider yourself lucky and move on."

She sighs and gives him a small smile. "Yeah. I guess you're right."

He leans in to give her a kiss before taking Annie from her. "I know I'm right. Now I'm taking her back to bed before the sun comes up, and I think it would be a good idea for you to join me."

Addison picks up the bottle up and follows him inside. Of course Annie wakes up when he tries to lay her down, but she's due for her next dose of painkillers and soon, aided by Tylenol with codeine, she falls asleep snuggled between her parents.

 **Okay guys. I have to admit, the sharp decrease in reviews on the last chapter was a huge blow to my fragile ego. Major thanks to my stalwart reviewers, Patsy, mandyg67, SarcasticAlexWilliams, and winter machine. I don't think I'd still be writing this without you four! Remember, reviews keep me happy, and I update faster when I'm happy, so...REVIEW! Please?**


	11. Chapter 11

It's seven-thirty when Emme pads into the kitchen on Thursday morning. Annie and the twins are in their high chairs making a racket with various rattles, toys, and teething rings while Addison prepares breakfast - oatmeal, Canadian bacon, cut fruit and English muffins; Mark follows Emme with Cecilia.

Addison reaches over and brushes Emme's hair out of her face. "I think those bangs are ready for a trim," she muses as Emme moves in for a hug. "Did you sleep well?"

Emme nods and shoots a glare at her redheaded sister. "Yeah. Except when Annie woke me up…"

"She didn't mean to, love bug. She's still having a little trouble sleeping. At least she only woke up once last night. Now, can you be my helper and get the table set?"

"I don't wanna."

"She didn't ask if you want to. She asked you to do it," Mark chimes in as he starts filling glasses and sippy cups with juice.

Emme rolls her eyes as she plops down in her chair. "I don't have to set the table at my dad's house."

"Well, unfortunately for you, this isn't _Derek's_ house. In this house you have chores, and one of them is setting the table."

"It's not fair! How come I always have to do it? Cece doesn't have to do any chores!" Emme argues.

"Cece can barely reach the table," Mark points out. "And how is she supposed to hold onto her walker and carry things to the table anyways? Besides, you didn't have chores when you were her age either. Now get up and set the table like your mother asked."

"I'm not doin' it!" Emme gets up and storms off to the living room.

Addison stops Mark when he tries to follow. "Just leave her. It's fine."

"It's not fine. Every time she comes home from _his_ house she cops an attitude. I had to tell her three times to brush her teeth last night, _and_ she picked a fight with Cecilia over whose turn it was to pick a bedtime story."

Addison slumps against the counter and massages her temples. "I know. I've been reading about this. It's totally normal for children in divorce to act out when transitioning from one parent's home to the other-"

"Okay, and how do we stop it?"

"Well, I haven't gotten that far, but I think we just need to be patient-"

"For how long? You and Derek split up before she was born! It's not like you just got divorced and she's all heartbroken over it."

"No, but this is all new. Living _here,_ actually seeing her father on a regular basis, trying to figure out how she fits into his family - with a new baby brother on top of all that - it's confusing. And stressful. So just chill and give her some space."

Mark throws his hands up in defeat. "Fine. You're the boss."

"Mark, I'm not _the_ boss. We're in this together. I just think we need to lay off of her for a while. Getting mad doesn't help anything. It's still attention, which probably just fuels her behavior. Ignore her when she's acting out and see what happens. If that doesn't help, we'll try something else, okay?"

"Okay," Mark says with a sigh. While he can appreciate that the last year has been challenging for Emme, he's not sure how much more attitude he can take. It's clear Addison isn't giving in, though, so he admits defeat.

Addison reaches over and strokes his cheek. "It'll get better, I promise. I've been looking into therapists. It seemed to help a lot back in New York, so as soon as the new nanny starts and things calm down I want to get her back in therapy. Please just try to be patient until then?" she asks before giving him a quick kids and returning to her breakfast preparations.

It's a rare weekday off for Mark, so after a thankfully uneventful breakfast he gets Cecilia ready to go to physical therapy.

"I'm making chicken salad for lunch. Stop at the bakery on your way home and get some nice rolls or croissants to go with it," Addison requests as they head out the door. It's another gorgeous day so they're planning to take the kids to the park for a picnic.

…..

Meredith and Brendan are in the waiting room at the pediatrician's office when Derek comes running in at eleven thirty-five. "Sorry I'm late. Got paged to the put for a consult," he explains as he lifts his son from the carrier.

"No big deal, they're running behind anyways," Meredith says with a shrug. "And it's just a checkup. I told you you don't have to be here."

"I couldn't miss my little man's first doctor's appointment." Derek looks around as he bounces Brendan. "Where's Riley? Did mom take her babysitting with her?"

"No, actually Mark is off today so they didn't need your mom. They both came with us but Riley was getting antsy so your mom took her outside to walk around. We're going to lunch when we're done here. And the mall, if the two of them behave. I need to grab a few things."

"Oh. Well that sounds nice," Derek says before the nurse calls them to an exam room.

…..

By the time Mark and Cecilia return, Addison has the other kids dressed and a big picnic lunch packed. "Okay, who wants to go to,the playground?" she asks once they walk through the door. They'd held off on telling the kids their plans in case Annie was having a bad day, but the toddler seems to be adjusting to life in a cast and is in good spirits, so they decided to go ahead with the outing.

"Oh, wow! This place is cool!" Emme squeals as she jumps out of the car and takes in the brightly-colored playground. It's not the closest playground to their house, but but they chose it because it's the only fully-accessible playground in the area.

"It is, isn't it? And that's where Cece's going to school in the fall," Addison says and points to the building nearby.

Emme's face darkens briefly. School is a sore subject for her at the moment. "But why can't I go here?"

"Because it's only a preschool," Addison explains as she pulls the double stroller out of the car.

"So why can't Cece go to my school?"

"Because she needs extra help, and she can't get that at your school." They've chosen a private school with a strong program for gifted and talented students for Emme; unfortunately it doesn't offer services for special-needs students so the girls will have to be split up, much to Emme's dismay. "But we have lots of time before school starts. Let's not worry about it now, okay?"

Emme sighs. "Okay."

Addison gets the twins settled in the stroller while Mark helps Cecilia out of the car and balances Annie on his hip. "Here Em, take this," he orders and passes her the diaper bag before grabbing the large insulated tote that contains their lunch.

"But it's heavy," Emme whines as she drops the bag.

"It's not _that_ heavy. Pick it up, and if I hear any more sass out of you, you can sit in the car," Mark snaps despite a "drop it" glare from Addison.

Emme rolls her eyes and exhales loudly but, much to Addison's relief, picks up the bag without any further arguing. She drops it on the ground next to a picnic table and turns to her parents. "Can I go play now?"

"I wanna play!" Cecilia yells as she hurries toward Emme. The entire area has a smooth surface, so she's zipping right along with her walker.

"Not yet. We're going to eat first, then you can play."

Both girls groan but obediently sit at the table while Addison starts serving up lunch. "Ew, what's that?" Cecilia asks as Addison opens a container.

"Chicken salad."

Cecilia wrinkles her nose. "I don't think I like it."

Addison starts splitting the croissants and tries to refrain from sighing. "Cece, it has chicken, apples, celery, dried cranberries, and walnuts. You like _all_ of those things."

Cecilia looks doubtful. "What else is there?"

"It looks good. I'll have yours," Emme interrupts and gives Cecilia a playful shove. She means no harm, but given Cecilia's poor balance and lack of core strength she topples over.

Mark manages to grab her before she falls off the bench. "Em, be nice," he warns as he gets Cecilia resituated.

"I was just playin'."

"Well play nicer."

In the end, Cecilia decides she does like the salad after all. Emme scarfs down two sandwiches, and Annie nibbles on a croissant, cubed apples and chicken while Addison spoons homemade baby food into Everett and Georgia's waiting mouths.

"Daddy, I wanna go on the swings!" Cecilia says excitedly as they clean up after lunch.

Annie claps. "Wing! Wing!"

"Okay, let's go swing."

Mark gets Annie and Cecilia into side-by-side swings so he can push both of them. Addison does the same next to him with the twins. Emme runs off to the gigantic play structure. A few minutes later she calls to Mark as she hangs upside down from the monkey bars. "Daddy, look what I can do!"

"I can't see you from here."

"Well, come over here! I wanna show you!"

"Em, I can't leave these two. Either come play where I can see you, or wait until I'm done."

"Mom, you come watch me!"

"Emme, just come over here with us. You can show me later."

"Fine!" Emme grumbles as she makes her way to the swings. "Can you push me?"

"Aw, love bug, I only have two hands. How about after these two go down for a nap?"

Emme turns to Mark. "Daddy?"

"Really, Em? You know how to do it yourself. Your sisters need help."

"But you wanted me to come over here! If _my dad_ was here, he would push me."

Mark pauses to take a deep breath. "Okay, you know what? Do whatever you want. Go back over there. I don't care."

"Mark…"

"Zip it, Addison."

Emme looks from Mark to Addison, not sure if she's more bothered by Mark's comment, or her parents fighting. Finally she chooses a swing and just gets going when Cecilia speaks up and points to the seesaw.

"Daddy, I wanna go on that!"

Annie squeals and imitates her older sister. Mark gives Addison a wary glance, knowing he can't handle both girls on the seesaw alone.

"These two are getting sleepy. Let me get them in the stroller and I'll help you," she offers somewhat stiffly, still hurt over his outburst but not wanting to ruin the day for the kids.

Emme sighs as the rest of the family abandons the swings; eventually she follows them, hoping one of the girls will get bored so she can have a turn. Neither seems to be tiring of it so she wanders away, ending up at the top of a very tall, winding slide that looks like a castle turret. Instead of going down she just hides inside, wondering how long it will take for someone to miss her. _Probably they won't,_ she thinks.

Of course she has no way of knowing how much time passes, but it seems like an eternity before she hears her mother yelling her name. She calls several times, sounding more worried each time, but Emme ignores her until Mark joins in.

"Emmeline Beatrice Shepherd, get over here right now or you can sit in the car until we go," he demands, and she pops up.

"I'm right here," she calls with more than a hint of sass as she peeks through the opening.

Cecilia squeals and waves. "Oh! Hi Emme! I wanna do that slide!"

It's a tall slide with stairs, the one thing on the playground not accessible for Cecilia's walker. "Too bad, you can't! You can just play with the babies," Emme taunts before disappearing from view again, though not before seeing the hurt on her sister's face.

"Okay, you know what? I've had enough of your attitude. Get down here. We're going home."

"Oh, come on. Don't ruin it for everyone," Addison growls. "I told you to ignore her."

"I don't care. This is ridiculous and I don't have to put up with it," Mark scoffs while Emme makes no move to come down. "If I have to come get you up there, you're not going to be happy!"

"Emme, please come down," Addison pleads, hoping to put an end to the situation before things get worse. "Just come down and play nice and we don't have to go."

"You promise?"

Addison stares at Mark defiantly. "I promise."

"Any more lip from you and we will leave. Got it?" Mark threatens when Emme comes down. He has to take a few deep breaths when she simply ignores him and stares at the ground.

"Okay, this is stupid. Both of you apologize and get over it!" Addison orders. When neither speaks she slaps Mark's arm. "You're the adult here. Set a good example," she hisses through her teeth.

"Fine. Emme, I'm sorry I yelled. I'm not mad at you."

She doesn't look convinced, and isn't entirely sure what she's supposed to apologize for. "Um, I'm sorry you got mad 'cause I wanted you to play with me."

Addison snickers a little at the attempted apology and shoves Mark away, hoping he'll leave Emme alone. "Okay, thank you for saying you're sorry. Now go play."

"But will you play with me?"

"Honey, Annie can't walk with her cast. I have to help her. You know that."

"Yeah, I know." Emme shuffles away to the rock climbing wall, though it's not much fun playing by herself.

Eventually Cecilia asks for a snack, so Addison calls everyone to the picnic table. Mark opens a white pasty box from the bakery and Emme looks inside. "I want that!" she says, reaching for a brownie with chocolate frosting and M&Ms on top.

"No, that's mine!" Cecilia protests and points to a blueberry muffin. "I picked that out for you 'cause it's your favorite."

"But I want a brownie! That's not fair!"

Addison slumps forward with her head in her hands. "You couldn't just get them all the same thing?"

"I promised her she could pick out what she wanted. Em, they only had one brownie left so we had to get you something else. You want mine instead?" he offers, holding out a giant chocolate chunk cookie.

"No! I want a brownie! It's not fair. You like her best!"

Finally Mark has had enough. "Okay, you don't get anything. Go sit in the car, and we're leaving when everyone else is done eating."

Emme doesn't move, so Mark gets up and grabs her shoulder roughly. "Why do you like her better? Because she's your real kid and I'm not?" she asks as he shoves her toward the car.

"I don't like anyone more than anyone else. But I'm getting real tired of your big mouth." He lifts her into the car and buckles her in before returning to the picnic table, leaving the door open so he can see her. "Hurry up so we can go," he barks at Cecilia, who is making quite the mess with her brownie.

She bursts into tears. "I don't wanna go! I wanna play!" She's still crying five minutes later when they're loading up the car.

"You're so mean. Why'd you make her cry?" Emme snaps as Mark gets Cecilia in her carseat.

"It's your fault, because you couldn't behave!" Mark shouts before slamming the door. The noise wakes the twins, and soon all five children are crying.

"I wanna call my dad. I wanna go to his house," Emme sobs as they pull out of the parking lot.

Addison can see Mark seething and rests a hand on his arm. "Mark…"

He brushes her off. "You're not calling him. He's busy with his own kids."

…..

Meredith and Carolyn are cleaning up from dinner when Derek gets home after an emergency craniotomy that kept him at work late. "So, how was lunch?" he asks after kissing Meredith and scooping Riley up for a hug.

"Good. We went shopping after, and I got the kids' outfits for pictures this weekend," Meredith says as she reaches for a bag. She holds up a tiny pair of denim overalls. "How cute are these? And I got this for Riley." She pulls out a white lace dress with a matching hairbow and a little jean jacket. "I'm wearing my denim shirt and that long white skirt, and I want you to wear those dark jeans."

He frowns. "Mere, do we _really_ have to do this? Why can't we do it on a weekend when I have Emme?"

"I told you. I want the same photographer who did Riley's newborn portraits. She's only available because she got a cancellation this weekend. Other than that she's booked until September. He won't _be_ a newborn in September!"

"It just seems so mean. She's part of this family-"

" _Your_ family. She's _your_ daughter. I love her, Derek, I do, but I want a photo with _our_ children. She's not my kid. I told you we can do Christmas card photos with her later but I want this to be just us! Is that really so terrible?"

"No, I guess not…"

 **Okay, okay, I KNOW this is all sorts of angsty, but bear with me! This is a tough time, and everyone is just having ALL THE FEELS but chill, it'll all work out in the end!**


	12. Chapter 12

**Hello, lovely readers! So sorry,for the long wait between chapters. I'm struggling lately, feeling a bit uninspired, so it took forever to get this to a point where I felt it was okay. Not great, but okay. It's still pretty angsty, so buckle in...it's gonna be a long, bumpy roads with these two families. *sigh***

"Emme, come set the table, please!"

Mark cringes when Addison calls Emme. It's nearly a week after the disastrous playground trip, and he's expecting more of the sass that has become the norm. Needless to say, he's completely surprised when she willingly leaves Cece and Annie playing with her My Little Pony collection and skips to the kitchen, ready to complete her task. He watches in shock as she sets out plates, cups and silverware, carefully folds napkins, and retrieves syrup and butter from the fridge without a single complaint.

"Wow, thanks for being such a good helper, love bug" he says as he ruffles her hair once she's done. She beams up at him at the praise and melts into his side, then holds her arms out; she's getting ridiculously tall at six years old but he gives in and picks her up anyways, and soaks up the all-too-brief moment when she rests her head on his shoulder and wraps one skinny arm around his neck.

It hasn't been an easy week. After both Mark and Emme had time to cool off after the picnic that got cut short, Addison had managed to negotiate a fragile peace between the two. Things didn't exactly go back to normal, though - Emme remained cool and indifferent towards Mark, and he spent most of the week walking on eggshells, unsure of what innocent remark might send her off the deep last couple of days had been a little better, though she seemed to shy away from any affection he tried to show.

Breakfast goes smoothly - or as smoothly as any meal can with an eighteen-month-old flinging bits of waffle around - and Emme even helps clean up before running off with Cecilia.

"Is that even the same child?" Mark asks once the girls are out of earshot. "It's taken a week to get her back to normal. Now she's going to Derek's tonight and we have to start all over again," he grumbles. "Maybe we can put the Wednesday night visits on hold for a while."

"Mark, we can't do that. We filed the visitation agreement in court. He can just call the cops and have her dragged out of here."

"Well, maybe we can change the agreement, because it really isn't working out."

Addison considers Mark's suggestion. She knows violating the custody agreement isn't in anyone's best interest, but she is eager to put an end to Emme's behavior issues, one way or another. She waits until Mark leaves for work and the new nannies - Nora and Erin, sweet Irish sisters in their early twenties whom Addison and Mark both fell in love with immediately - are playing with the children to pick up her phone.

"Derek, hey. Listen, I had an idea. I know Emme is supposed to go to your house tonight, but it must be hard on Meredith, making dinner and all that with a new baby especially now that your mother went home-"

"Addison, we have an agreement. I get Emme on Wednesday nights-"

"I know! I'm not saying I don't want you to see her. I was just thinking maybe you guys would like to come over here for dinner tonight instead. The weather is nice, we'll throw something on the grill, let the kids play outside, I'll steal that baby from your wife for a little while…"

He mulls it over. "I'll see what Meredith thinks and get back to you, okay?"

"Sure."

…..

Mark gets home from work to find Addison bustling around the kitchen. She already has a garden salad, a fruit salad, and potato salad ready, and is filling bowls with chips and dip, popcorn, and Emme's favorite party mix. Emme is out on the patio with one of the nannies - Erin, he thinks, but they look so much alike he's really not sure - shucking ears of corn.

He eyes a large tray of marinated chicken on the counter. "What's all this? That's an awful lot of food for four people," he notes. After all, Emme will be gone, Annie and Cecilia don't eat that much, and of course the twins are too little for such things.

She looks a little guilty. "Well, I know you didn't want Emme to go to Derek's tonight, so I invited them over for dinner instead. That way Emme still gets to see her father, and maybe we can talk to Derek and Meredith about her behavior," she says, hoping he thinks it's a good idea.

He doesn't look entirely convinced, but finally he nods. "I guess it's better than letting her go over there," he admits. "I suppose I'm supposed to grill this?" he adds with a nod towards the chicken.

"Unless you'd rather frost cupcakes."

Mark shakes his head and chuckles. "How the hell did you manage all this?"

She smiles, looking like the weight of the world has been taken off her shoulders; he hasn't seen her this relaxed in a long time. "Oh, these nannies are _amazing_ , Mark. We are keeping them forever. Or at least until the twins leave for college. I actually got to shower _and_ do my hair and makeup with no one interrupting me. And went to the grocery store. Alone. It was _glorious_. Then they took Annie and the twins for a walk while Emme and Cece helped me in the kitchen."

"Nice. Well, I guess I'll go change and fire up the grill."

…..

An hour later Derek and Meredith arrive with the kids. "Sorry we're late. Someone decided he couldn't wait to eat," Derek quips with a nod towards Brendan, who is snoozing on Meredith's shoulder when Addison opens the door.

"Riley, come on, we're gonna play in the sprinkler!" Emme interrupts rather loudly, and Addison steps aside as the two-year-old tears past her in an Elmo bathing suit and matching flip flops.

Mark intercepts them before they reach the patio door. "Not so fast. Dinner first, then you can play in the sprinkler before dessert."

"But daddy, we wanna-"

He kneels down in front of her and puts a hand on her shoulder. "Emme, what did I say about backtalk?"

"But-"

"Do you want a timeout?" She pouts and shakes her head vigorously. "Okay then. No more backtalk. Eat first, then play."

She sends Derek a pleading look, as if begging him to reason with Mark, but he gives her a subtle head shake and she slinks away with Riley in tow.

"Sorry, she's been a little...fresh lately," Addison apologizes as she accepts the dinner rolls Derek offers. "I thought we'd eat outside tonight, if you'd like to get your drinks and take a seat."

"That sounds lovely," Meredith says as she steps inside. "And thank you so much for inviting us. It was so nice of you."

"Oh, well, I figured you could use a break. I can't really relate to the stepmother thing, but I _do_ know that when I had newborns, the last thing I wanted was someone else's kid running through the house," Addison replies sweetly - a little _too_ sweetly, Derek thinks - as she guides them through the house to the back door. "And who has time to cook when you're nursing _and_ chasing a toddler around all day?"

Outside, Nora already has the twins in their high chairs. Erin is keeping Annie and Cecilia occupied with bubbles in the grass, though Cecilia pulls herself to her feet, grabs her walker, and makes a beeline for Derek as soon as he steps outside. She struggles a little on the lawn, but picks up speed as soon as she hits the patio.

"Oh, hi! Did you bring Sully?" she asks excitedly as she comes to a halt in front of him.

He squats down to her level."No, Sully had to stay home."

"But why? I love him!"

"Well, his table manners aren't that good."

"Oh. Well, I wanted him to come," Cecilia says sadly. "I like him so much. I wish I had a doggie."

Derek tries to distract her. "You know what I like? I like how well you're walking, and how straight you can stand up! You must be working really hard!"

She grins and nods enthusiastically. "Uh huh! Look what I can do!" Letting go of the walker, she takes four jerky steps towards him before stumbling; he catches her before she hits the ground. She's clearly a ways away from walking independently, but it's a noticeable improvement from that day just over a year ago when he learned of her cerebral palsy. "Wow! That is amazing! Gimme a high five!"

Unbeknownst to Derek, Emme is hovering next to him, not appreciating the fact that Cecilia has hijacked his attention; when he stands up he bumps into her, knocking her over.

"Geez, Em, I didn't even know you were there!" he says as he helps her to her feet. "What were you doing so close?"

She wiggled her remaining bottom front tooth. "I wanna show you this! Erin says maybe if I eat corn on the cob tonight it will fall out!"

He inspects the tooth and grins. "I think Erin might be right. I bet that tooth fairy will be visiting again very soon."

"Okay, okay, you two sit down and quit bugging Derek," Mark orders as he brings a platter of chicken from the grill to the table.

Cecilia tugs on Derek's pant leg. "I wanna sit next to you!"

"No, I do!" Emme argues.

He looks from one girl to the other. Meredith is holding the baby so he has to sit next to Riley to help her, but he doesn't want to disappoint either girl or cause a fight.

"Cece, you can sit next to me," Mark offers, but she stomps one foot stubbornly.

"No! I like Derek. He's my friend!" She looks up at Derek, her eyes hopeful behind her little blue glasses. "Right?"

"He's not your friend, he's your doctor."

"And he's _my_ dad," Emme adds and glares at Cecilia. "I'm sitting next to him."

Cecilia is about to protest, but Mark picks her up and sits her on the bench to end the discussion; Emme gives her a smug look as she takes a seat across the table, next to Derek.

The meal goes relatively smoothly. The only problem, at least in Emme's opinion is that her tooth doesn't fall out after all.

"Okay, who wants to play in the sprinkler?" Mark asks after dinner. Emme, Cecilia, and Riley all cheer loudly. Annie has no clue what's going on, but joins in on the noise; she's not happy when the big girls run off without her, Mark trailing behind to turn the sprinkler on.

"Gosh, they're awfully noisy, aren't they?" Addison quips to Meredith with a laugh as she rescues Annie from her high chair. "Oh, I know you want to play. Not this time. Sorry, munchkin."

"They're...enthusiastic," Meredith agrees uneasily before changing the subject. "So, how long will she be in a cast?"

"We're going back to see Doctor Torres on Friday to get new x rays. She said six to eight weeks, because it's a tib-fib fracture, but it's a pretty bad break, and if it's not healing right she might need surgery. Fingers crossed it doesn't come to that."

"Well, that's no fun."

"No, it's not. Especially during the summer. But she's getting used to it. Last week she figured out she can crawl with the cast on, and yesterday I caught her pulling herself up on the coffee table. And here we thought it would slow her down."

Mark returns from setting up the sprinkler and snatches Annie from Addison. "Not my girl. She's tough. Aren't you? You're not gonna let a little cast get in your way, are you?" He tosses her up in the air a few times, causing her to giggle and Addison to cringe.

"Mark! Be careful!" she warns, not relaxing until he sits down with Annie on his lap.

"Calm down. She's fine," he scoffs.

Addison stands up in a huff and starts collecting dishes to bring inside. "She won't be fine if you keep doing that," she mutters to herself once she's out of earshot.

Derek picks up some plates and brings them inside, hoping to get a moment alone with his ex-wife. "So why did you _really_ invite us over, Addison? Because I know it wasn't just out of the goodness of your heart. Are you trying to make my wife feel bad?"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Really? _They're awfully noisy, aren't they? The last thing I wanted was someone else's kid running through the house._ If you're upset with Meredith drop the passive-aggressive bullshit and just say what you need to say like an adult."

"You know what? I'm really not that upset with Meredith. She got thrown into this stepmother gig with no choice. I can understand her frustration. Would have preferred that my six-year-old didn't hear her voice her frustration, but I understand. What bothers me is that you couldn't bother to tell me about it."

"I tried to! You were too busy with your...litter to listen. You said you would call and you didn't."

"My baby had just come home from the hospital with a broken leg and a concussion! Forgive me for being a little distracted. But that was two weeks ago! You could have called me. But no, that actually isn't why I invited you over-"

Mark chooses that moment to enter the kitchen with platters of leftover food and takes note of the tension on both of their faces. "Am I interrupting something?"

"No, we were just on our way back out to discuss Emme's behavior," Addison says and brushes pay him, Derek hot on her heels.

"There's nothing wrong with her behavior," Derek insists as he takes his seat.

"Oh, yes there is," Addison argues. "Every time she comes home from your house she's like a completely different person! She argues about doing her chores, refuses to share with her sisters-"

"Well, maybe if you treated her like a _kid,_ instead of a nanny or a housekeeper, you wouldn't have that problem," Derek says pointedly.

"Oh, like you didn't have chores, or-"

"Of course I did. But did you?"

Addison looks away, hoping she doesn't appear as flustered as she feels. "No, but I don't want my children growing up like that! And you know what her chores are? Setting the table, and laundry. She folds towels and washcloths, and sorts socks. It's not like she's scrubbing floors or ironing clothes! But I guess since she does nothing at your house that seems like an awful lot."

"I see her every other weekend, and a few hours on Wednesdays! I'm not going to spend that time being a slavedriver."

"Of course. You're the Disneyland Dad. The fun one. That's why she behaves for you. Or _maybe_ it's because she's afraid you'll send her away if she doesn't."

"Oh, that's bullshit! _Maybe_ it's because you two have no idea what you're doing! You had shitty parents, and now you have too many kids and-"

The arguing comes to a halt when Emme yelps in pain. The adults look over to see her standing under the sprinkler with a hand clamped over her mouth; when she pulls it away, a trickle of blood runs down her chin and she bursts into tears.

Mark, Addison, and Derek are at her side immediately. After a quick examination it's clear the injury is relatively minor, but Mark runs inside for ice anyways. Derek holds Emme on his lap while Addison dabs at her nose and lip with a napkin. Emme's crying too hard to form a coherent sentence, but eventually, with - or maybe despite - help from Cecilia and Riley they deduce that Cecilia's walker had gotten bogged down in the wet grass; Emme tried to help her, but just as she bent down to give her a push, Cecilia slipped and head-butted Emme right in the face.

"She's okay. Won't even need stitches," Derek assures Mark when Mark returns with an ice pack.

"Why don't you let me be the judge of that?" Mark snaps. He carefully inspects the small gash and reluctantly agrees with Derek before pressing the ice pack to Emme's lip. "You okay, love bug?"

She nods, but suddenly gasps. "My tooth! It's gone! I have to find it!"

"Em, you're not going to find it out there. And you might have swallowed it," Derek says gently.

Cecilia makes her way over to Emme. "I wanna see!"

"Go away!" Emme snaps at her.

"But-"

"I said go away!" When Cecilia doesn't budge Emme shoves her; not hard, but it's enough to topple the smaller girl.

"Hey! You want to spend the rest of the night in your room?" Mark asks as he pulls Cecilia to her feet. "Say you're sorry."

"I'm not sorry! She knocked my tooth out and now the tooth fairy won't come."

"Emme, we'll leave a note for the tooth fairy. It'll be fine. Now say you're sorry."

"You always take her side! I'm not sorry! I hate her!"

"Okay, you know what? I've had enough of your attitude. You can go to your room now." Mark reaches to take Emme from Derek, but Derek wraps his arms around her protectively.

"Don't you think that's a little harsh? She's hurt. Leave her alone."

"You shut up. You want to let her smack Riley around at your house, fine, but that doesn't fly around here so you just mind your own business."

"She's _my_ kid. She _is_ my business," Derek growls as Emme's eyes dart from one man to the other.

"Okay, this is ridiculous. You two are ridiculous!" Addison snaps as she pushes Mark away and reaches for Emme. "You two are the problem here." She jabs a finger in Mark's chest. " _You_ flip out on her for every little thing," she pauses to turn and glare at Derek, "and _you_ let her get away with murder! She needs consistency. _That_ is why I invited you over, so we could talk about that. Not so you two could hurl insults and accusations, and all but whip it out in front of your daughter! You should be ashamed of yourselves!"

She turns to go inside, Emme in her arms, but Emme cries out. "No! I want to go to my dad's house!"

"Absolutely not!" Mark barks.

"Well, you did ruin my evening with her. It's only fair." Derek steps forward and tries to take Emme from Addison, but Mark steps between them. "And it's what she wants."

"Try it and I'll call our lawyer. You really want the police to remove her from your house for violating the custody agreement?"

"You already violated the agreement by not letting her come to my house. She wants to come. I'm taking her."

Meredith tries to reason with her husband. "You _agreed_ to come here. You could have said no. Don't be stupid. You're not taking her."

"See? Your wife doesn't want her. I'm not letting her go where she's not wanted," Mark argues.

"Don't put words in her mouth! You leave her out of this-"

All seven children are crying by now, and Addison is regretting dismissing the nannies before dinner. "Enough!" she finally screams. The adults all stop and stare at her. "No more. She's staying here tonight, end of discussion. We will find another time to continue this discussion _in a civilized manner_ , but for now, we're done. I think you've done enough damage, and I hope you're proud of yourselves."

 **Okay guys. I know how much you love the DWTNY universe. I also know that many of you also love the amazing winter machine. Well, as luck would have it she also loves DWTNY, and wrote a crazy good one-shot about our favorite families, called The Four Ps. In case you missed it, it was posted the other night in These Little Moments, and if you haven't checked it out yet you definitely should! Don't forget to review, show her some love, and let me know if you want some more one-shots from her! (I know I do!)**


	13. Chapter 13

**Okay, this chapter, however mediocre, goes out to my long-suffering bento BFF - THANKS FOR ALL THE NAGGING WHAT YOU'VE DONE. My apologies to all my awesome regular reviewers for the inexcusable delay. Thanks for sticking with me! I really just hit a major writer's block with this chapter for whatever reason. I will try so hard to get the next chapter up in a more timely fashion, and it should be more interesting than this.**

 **P.S. Patsy, I got your review just as I was finishing this up. Thanks for the love! Your dedication to this story keeps me going!**

With Derek, Meredith, and the kids gone Addison distracts Emme with a movie - and one of the cupcakes they'd made earlier but hadn't gotten to eat before things got ugly - while she puts the twins to bed. Then, leaving Mark to handle Annie and Cecilia, she joins Emme on the couch. "How you doing, love bug? Does it still hurt?" she asks as she wipes a splotch of yellow frosting from Emme's cheek with her thumb.

Emme runs her tongue over the small cut on her bottom lip. "No, it's okay. But I gotta find my tooth!"

"Em, we're not going to find your tooth out there in the grass. It's too small, and it's almost dark out."

"But the tooth fairy won't come!" Emme balls her hands into fists and growls. "I _hate_ her!"

"Emmeline, we don't use that word. You can say you're mad at her, but don't say you hate her. It was an accident. And I know it hurt when she hit you, but what you did to her was wrong."

"But she hurt me first!"

"It was an _accident_ ," Addison repeats. "She's not strong like you, Em. You could have really hurt her. It's okay to be mad, but it's not okay to hurt other people, especially when they're littler than you."

"But daddy hurt me, and he's _lots_ bigger!"

Addison frowns. Mark is strongly opposed to spanking, and she's never seen him hit the any of the children. "Honey, when did daddy hurt you?"

"At the park! When he made me go in the car and he grabbed me, it hurt a lot and it was scary!"

"You're right. He did get a little rough, and that was wrong. How about I promise to talk to daddy and tell him how that made you feel, and you promise not to hurt your sister any more? Deal?"

Emme looks skeptical, but finally nods. "Okay."

"Okay. Now, it's just about bedtime, so how about we write a letter to the tooth fairy and tell her what happened, and maybe she'll come anyways."

…..

The next morning Addison is feeding the twins - Everett, as usual, was awake early and roused Georgia with his crying - when Emme comes flying down the stairs.

"Mommy, look! The tooth fairy _did_ come! She left me twenty dollars!"

Addison grins at her daughter's enthusiasm; she's glad Mark has already left for work, because he definitely wouldn't approve of a tooth fairy gift that large. But it _is_ Emme's first tooth, or at least the first one she's lost at their house, so it should be special, she thinks. The way things have been going lately she'd do just about anything to make Emme happy, and the smile on her face right now is totally worth it.

"That's awesome! I have an idea. How about after Cece's PT you and I go school shopping, and you can get anything you want with your tooth fairy money."

Emme's eyes light up. "Really? Just you and me?"

"Just you and me."

…..

By the time Addison returns with Cecilia it's nearly noon, so she and Emme stop for lunch before continuing on to the mall. Thanks to Emme's private school dress code clothes shopping isn't much fun, but they soon have bags of pleated skirts and pants in charcoal gray; polos and sweaters in red and white emblazoned with the school logo have already been ordered. They stock up on the requisite knee socks, and Emme gets sneakers and shoes - saddle shoes, black patent-leather Mary Janes, and red leather t-straps. After that drudgery Addison lets her pick out some hair bows and headbands and a backpack; she selects one in pink and orange paisley with a matching insulated lunch bag to hold her bento box and water bottle.

When they finish up there, they go to the toy store so Emme can spend her tooth fairy money. She quickly picks out a few small Lego sets, then picks up a Finding Nemo play set. "Mom, can I get this?"

At first Addison is puzzled. Emme has never expressed much interest in the movie, and the set is definitely geared towards the preschool crowd. Still, she had said Emme could get whatever she wanted with her money. "Of course, if that's what you really want."

Emme nods solemnly. "It's for Cece. 'cause I wasn't very nice to her yesterday. You think she'll like it?"

Now all Addison feels is pride. "I'm sure she'll love it."

"Do I have enough? Or do I have to put one of these back?" she asks as she points to the Lego sets.

Addison studies the price tags; with tax it'll cost over twenty dollars, but she can't burst her daughter's bubble. "I think you have just enough."

Satisfied, Emme skips to the register. The cashier rings the items up. "That'll be twenty-thr-"

Addison clears her throat. When the cashier glances her way she winks and holds up a few one dollar bills and hopes the teen catches her drift.

"Twenty dollars, miss."

Emme grins at her mother before handing over her money. "It was _exactly_ enough! Isn't that cool?"

"Very cool." Addison mouths _thank you_ as she hands the cashier the extra bills and hurries after Emme, who's already skipping away, bag swinging in her hand.

…..

The next morning Addison is on her way to the hospital with Cecilia and Annie in tow when she decides to call Derek. She regrets the decision as soon as he answers.

"No, we're not spending the weekend at your house. I'll be picking Emme up as soon as I get out of work," he says curtly in lieu of a greeting.

"Oh, don't be an as- a...a... _a butthead_ ," she sputters, his laughter on the other end enraging her even more.

"A _butthead_? That's the best you can come up with? You're slipping, Addison."

"Annie and Cece are in the car with me, or I would have gone with something different, believe me" she grumbles. "But regardless of what I think you are, I'm not calling to argue, and I don't want to keep Emme from you. I just want to talk."

"Oh, I think we talked enough the other day, don't you?"

"That wasn't talking! That was you insulting my parenting ability, and you and Mark having a pissing contest! I want to _talk."_

"We don't need to talk!" Derek insists. "Emme is fine. She's an angel at my house. Clearly you and Mark are the problem."

"Can you _stop it_? I'm not trying to place blame or point any fingers here, I just want to figure out what's going on and try to fix it, Derek! I want to help Emme, and I think we all need to work together to do th-"

Derek groans. "Addison, I gotta go. I'll talk to Emme, okay? But after Wednesday night I'm really not interested in talking to you or _him_. Goodbye."

…..

When Derek arrives to pick Emme up, he finds Addison waiting for him on the front porch. "Don't start your shit, Addison. Where's my kid?"

"Relax. _Our_ daughter is upstairs changing because Hurricane Annie just spilled juice all over her. She'll be out in a minute, but I wanted to-"

"Talk, I know. How many times do I have to tell you I don't want to talk? We don't need to talk. Emme's great at my house. She's fine. And if she's not fine, that's on you and Mark so go talk to him."

"Derek…"

"I'm done, Addison. Now go get Emme before I call my lawyer."

Addison huffs and turns towards the door just as Emme flings it open. "Hey, love bug, you ready?"

"Yeah, but daddy's not home yet. I won't get to say goodbye. He doesn't want to see me."

"Oh, honey, he probably just got stuck at work."

"No, he's probably still mad at me." Emme sighs and leans into Addison for a hug.

"He's not mad." Addison leans down to give Emme a kiss. "I'll tell him to call you before bedtime. Now you go have a good time with your dad, okay?"

Emme hugs Addison one last time before running off.

…..

"Dad, you missed the driveway!" Emme squeals as they drive down the road.

"I know. We're going somewhere. But first, I wanted to talk to you a little. I was talking to your mom, and she's a little worried about your behav-"

"Are you mad at me?" Emme interrupts, and he can't miss the distress in her voice; he still forgets sometimes how sensitive she is.

"No, I'm not mad-"

"Then why were you talking about me?" Now she sounds defensive rather than sad. "That's rude, you know, talking about people behind their back."

"We're your parents. We're allowed to do that, especially if something's wrong. Your mom thinks you've been a bit naughty lately-"

"I have not! I haven't gotten in any trouble!"

"You pushed Cece the other night, after dinner. Em, that wasn't very nice of you-"

She's back to being on the verge of tears. In the rear-view mirror he can see her lip trembling as she screws her eyes shut. "You _are_ mad! You said you weren't but you are! Why are you on her side? You're _my_ dad, not hers!"

"Hey, calm down. I'm not mad," he repeats gently. "And I'm not on her side. But we need to talk about it because first of all, I like Cece and I don't want to see her get hurt, but more importantly, it's not like you to act like that so I was worried that maybe something was bothering you."

Emme sniffles a little. "Oh."

"And I want you to know that if something is bothering you, you can talk to me about it. You can tell me when you're at my house, or you can call me if you're at your mom's house. Okay?"

"Okay."

"And just so you know, if anybody ever hurt you like you hurt Cece, I'd definitely be on your side."

"Really?"

"Really."

"Cool." Emme smiles, and he can tell she's relieved. "So, where are we going?"

"Well, the next time you stay with me - in two weeks - it'll be time for our vacation. So tonight, we're going shopping."

Now she looks confused. "Why are we going shopping? I just went shopping yesterday with my mom!"

"Did your mom buy you water shoes or hiking boots?"

"No. I got school shoes."

"How about shorts and t-shirts that you can get dirty in?"

"No way!"

"Well that's why we're going shopping - because your mom has no clue how to dress for the outdoors."


	14. Chapter 14

**This chapter goes out to my rockstar reviewers, especially the regulars - winter machine, Patsy, mandyg67, SarcasticAlexWilliams, Addison-fan, and RoryGilmore08. You guys are what keeps me going, and the whole reason I write! This story is for you - not for rude, nasty, cowardly anons who say it's annoying drivel. Don't like it? Move along to the other 17.4K Grey's fics. But thanks for the permission to keep writing.**

Addison is getting dinner ready when she hears Mark come in. She's waiting for him, hand on hip, when he enters the kitchen. "So, working late again?"

He drops his wallet, keys, and phone on the counter before leaning back against it with a sigh. "Yup. Working late again."

"Or avoiding a certain six-year-old and her other father?" Addison prods.

"Oh, come on, I'm not avoiding anyone," he scoffs, but he can't quite force himself to meet her gaze.

"She thinks you're mad at her."

"I'm not mad at anyone!"

"Well then stop acting like it!" She snaps before crossing the room and taking his hands in hers. When she speaks again, her voice is softer. "Look, I know it hurts you that she likes him, and enjoys spending time with h-"

"She hurt Cece, that's why I got mad. This has nothing to do with _him_!"

"Keep telling yourself that. Mark, you're hurting her! _I_ understand that letting her be with Derek is scary, and maybe a little painful, but _she_ doesn't. All she knows is that he loves her, and she has a good time with him, and you can not punish her for that! You can't take your hurt feelings out on her."

"I don't take my feelings out on her! She acts like a brat-"

"You do take your feelings out on her! Maybe you can't see that, but you do. And she's not a brat. She's a little kid acting out because she's confused and overwhelmed, and the worse you react to her, the worse her behavior gets. You need to be the adult here and break the cycle! Be patient, and gentle, and we'll get through it. Okay?"

"Fine."

"Don't _fine_ me, Mark. You're a great father to her, and she loves you. I don't want you to mess that up, and I know you don't either. If you won't try for me, do it for yourself. And Emme. Promise?"

"I promise."

"Okay...now, I may have promised you'd call her before bed…"

…..

After dinner Derek pulls up in front of a large store.

"R...E...I," Emme reads slowly as Derek gets out of the car and opens her door. "We're shopping here?" Derek nods with an excited grin and she sighs. "This doesn't look like Barney's."

"It's not. It's better!"

She gives him a skeptical glance and takes his hand. Inside, he leads her first to the shoe department. A young woman immediately comes over to help them. "Can I help you find anything today?"

"My daughter needs hiking boots."

The woman smiles. "And what size shoe does your daughter wear?"

Derek looks down at Emme, not sure what size she wears. "These are size one," she informs him, and the saleswoman grabs a box.

"These are our most popular hiking boots for kids."

Emme wrinkles her nose at the brown boots with orange laces. "Is that the only color?"

"Oh no, we also have gray and black."

Emme examines both options before looking up at Derek and giving a slight shake of her head. "Um, do you have anything a little more...feminine?"

"Well, we do have these," the saleswoman says as she selects another pair of shoes halfway down the aisle.

The boots are light gray with lavender trim and bright purple laces. "What do you think, Em? Want to try these on? You do like purple."

"Um, okay."

Derek helps Emme put the boots on and watches her trudge up and down the aisle. It's clear she's never worn anything so clunky, but they fit well so he decides to take them. He also realizes that she needs rain boots as well. He knows Addison bought her a pair of Hunter wellies, but she should have a pair for his house as well - this is the Pacific northwest, after all - and luckily they easily locate a pair in a purple flower print that she likes.

Next they move along to outerwear. "Dad, I already have a raincoat," she points out as he scopes out the jackets.

"Em, Burberry really isn't made for camping." He selects a lightweight style with a hood and holds up two. "Pink, or purple?"

"Well, I guess purple, 'cause it matches my boots."

"Of course. Can't climb a mountain if you don't match," he mutters as he adds the raincoat to the cart and moves along to swimwear. She shows a little more enthusiasm for that, and soon they have a pink swimsuit with a long-sleeved rashguard and matching water sandals and hat.

Finally he helps her pick out a few pairs of jeans, khakis, and shorts as well as some t-shirts, flannels, and a fleece sweatshirt. He has to laugh as she eyes a rack of shirts and wrinkles her nose. "Just so you know, I am _not_ wearing this, ever!" she informs him as she points to a camouflage top. "Even if it is pink!"

He laughs and ruffles her hair. "That's fine, Em. We're camping, not hunting. No need for camo."

By the time they leave, he's laden down with several large bags and his wallet is considerably lighter...but overall Emme is happy with their purchases, and that's all that matters.

…..

At eight o'clock Derek is putting Riley to bed - she insisted he do it, since he hadn't let her go with him and Emme - when the phone rings. Meredith crosses the living room, where Emme is watching the latest Disney movie, and hands the phone to her. "It's for you."

Emme looks surprised. "Me?"

"Yes, you. It's your daddy."

Now Emme's eyes look like they're about to fall out of her head; Meredith can't figure out if she's surprised or terrified - or maybe a bit of both. "Hello?"

"Hey, love bug." He hears her let out a sigh of relief, like she'd been expecting to hear something else entirely, and feels a pang of guilt.

"Hi, daddy."

"Mommy said you were sad that I didn't make it home before you left so I wanted to call and say goodnight."

"Oh. I thought you were still mad at me," she admits timidly, and he cringes at her tone.

"No, baby, I'm not mad at you."

"You were pretty mad the other night…"

"Emme, I was upset because you hurt your sister but I overreacted, and I'm sorry. Forgive me?"

"Okay."

"Good. So, are you having fun with your dad?"

"Yeah! We went shopping because we're going camping! He said we're going in the mountains, and there's a lake, and we're going in a boat. I had to get hiking boots and they were all _ugly_ but I got gray ones with purple and they're only a _little_ ugly. And me and Riley got matching shirts. They're flannel, and they're so soft."

"He'll have you chopping wood before you know it…"

"Huh?"

"I said I bet you'll have a fun trip."

"Oh. Yeah, I think so."

"Okay, well I have to go tuck Cece in, and I bet it's just about time for you to get ready for bed so I'm gonna let you go. Have fun and I'll see you on Sunday, okay? Love you."

"I love you more!"

"I love you the most. Goodnight, love bug."

"Goodnight, daddy."

…..

On Sunday afternoon Addison arrives at Derek's house to pick Emme up promptly at five. She waits a few minutes and honks the horn when Emme doesn't come out. A few minutes later she honks again, then gets out and hesitantly knocks on the door - neither Derek nor Meredith are high on her list of people she wants to see, for obvious reasons. Before the door even opens she can tell why no one heard the car horn - Brendan is wailing frantically while the girls are shrieking in the background. Meredith answers the door looking frazzled with the baby in her arms, and Addison can see Derek on all fours, chasing Emme and Riley around the living room while Sully barks at the chaos. "I, um, I honked the horn, but…"

"Yeah, welcome to the zoo," Meredith grumbles as she steps back to let Addison in. "Emme, your mom's here," she calls, looking more than a little relieved.

"Mommy!" Emme dodges piles of toys on the floor and runs to Addison.

"Hey, love bug, I missed you." Addison leans down to kiss Emme and frowns. "Why is your mouth blue?"

Emme grins. "We went to the art festival downtown. I had a snow cone _and_ cotton candy!"

"Did you have something good to eat before that?"

Emme nods. "Uh huh! Nachos!"

Addison glares at Derek and he shrugs. "We went to the farmer's market yesterday. It's all about balance."

She fights the urge to roll her eyes as she looks around at the mess in the house. "Okay. Emme, did you get all these toys out?"

"Some of them…"

"Well, I think you better help pick them up before we leave."

"Don't worry about it," Derek says from the living room floor.

Clearly he had ignored her lectures about chores and responsibility. "Derek-"

"It's fine. I'll take care of it. Emme, can I get a hug?"

Emme runs to give him a hug and kiss, then hurries back to Addison with Riley hot on her heels.

"Emme, I go wif you!"

"You can't. There's too many babies at my house already." Addison turns red at this and Derek snickers. "But I'll be back on Wednesday for dinner."

"Okay, okay, let's get a move on. Dinner is in the oven," Addison prods as the girls hug. "And don't forget your…" She sighs as Emme dashes out the door empty handed. "Bag." With a forced smile she accepts the knapsack Derek offers and lets herself out. She finds Emme running circles around the car and takes a deep breath, trying to stay calm. "Emme, you need calm down."

Emme comes to a halt and climbs in the car when Addison opens the door. "Hey mom, look at the bracelet I got at the festival," she says as Addison backs out of the driveway.

"I can't, Em, I'm driving."

"It's a friendship bracelet," Emme continues, as if she hadn't heard her mother. "And dad let me get one for Cece too, 'cause she's my best friend. Mine is purple, but I got her a blue one to match her glasses."

When they get home Emme runs inside, leaving Addison to grab her bag once again. She kicks her shoes off in the hallway and takes off running. "Cece? Where are you?"

"I'm in the playroom!" Cecilia yells, so Emme heads through the living room.

Mark jumps up off the couch and grabs her. "Hey! Cut it out!" he scolds, as she narrowly missed the twins who are on a blanket on the floor.

"What? I didn't do anything!"

He opens his mouth to argue, but sees Addison in the doorway with a _remember what I said_ look and he sets her down gently, then kneels down so he's at eye level. He takes a few deep breaths and speaks calmly instead of yelling. "Emme, I've told you before no running in the house. You weren't watching where you were going and almost stepped on your brother and sister. You need to be more careful, okay?"

She nods, clearly relieved that he isn't yelling. "Okay."

He pulls her in for a hug. "Okay. Did you have fun this weekend?"

"Yeah! Yesterday we went to the farmer's market and got lots of fruit and vegetables. They had peaches _this big_ ," she says with,wide eyes as she makes a circle with her hands. "They were _so_ juicy and good! And today we went to an art festival. I got this bracelet, and I got one for Cece too. But not Annie or the twins 'cause they have little beads and they could choke."

"That's very thoughtful. I'm sure she'll like it. Now why don't you go wash up for dinner?"

…..

After dinner Addison puts the twins down for the night and gets Annie ready for bed while Mark handles Cecilia. With Annie asleep, Addison feigns a headache and heads to bed herself, leaving Mark to deal with Emme.

Emme's in the middle of the living room floor with several sets of Magna Tiles spread out around her when he comes down. "Okay, kiddo, time to get ready for bed."

"But I'm not done!"

"But it's bedtime. Please start picking up."

"But I'm still building my castle!"

Mark takes a few deep breaths and squats down in front of her. "And it's a really nice castle, but you'll have to finish it tomorrow."

"I don't _want_ to finish it tomorrow!" She gets up, but before she can storm off he gently grabs her hand.

"Hey. Come on, I'll help you pick up, and we'll move your castle to the playroom so you can finish it tomorrow."

"But I don't wanna!"

"Em, if you pick up right now we'll have time for two chapters in your book tonight. If you keep arguing there won't be time for any bedtime story. It's up to you."

She lets out something between a growl and a groan, but sinks to get knees and starts picking up the pieces. Soon they're done and head upstairs, where he helps her into her pajamas, even though she's fully capable of doing it on her own, and sends her into the bathroom to use the toilet and brush her teeth.

Ten minutes later he's still waiting. He peeks in the bathroom and finds her making faces in the mirror, foam dripping down her chin. "Okay, that's enough fooling around."

"I'm not done brushing."

 _It's not her fault. It's not her fault. It's not her fault,_ he tells himself over and over, trying not to lose his cool. "You've been in here long enough." He takes her toothbrush, wipes her face with a washcloth, and hands her a cup of water to rinse. "Did you go potty?"

"Yeah."

"Okay. Into bed."

She takes her time deciding which stuffed animals she needs to sleep with, but eventually he gets her into bed. She's nearly asleep by the time he finishes the second chapter. He turns on her nightlight, turns off the overhead light, and tucks her in. "Good night, sleep tight…"

"See you in the morning light," she finishes in a barely intelligible mumble, her eyes fluttering closed.

He drops a kiss on her forehead. "Love you, love bug."

 **I can't believe I'm saying this, but we're in the home stretch! Probably about 3 more chapters, and an epilogue. But fear not, there are some big things coming up in those 3 chapters!**


	15. Chapter 15

**Okay lovely readers! For those of you that are sad that we are nearing the end, don't despair! I** _ **think**_ **I may go a few more chapters than I planned, AND I already have ideas for another sequel, which I will post IF there is enough interest! Want it? Let me know! Want me to move on to something else? Let me know that too!**

Mark gets home from work on Wednesday to find Erin sitting on the living room with Annie, who is standing with one hand on the coffee table and a look of concentration on her face. The twins are in their exersaucers babbling at each other and Nora is nowhere to be found, but Mark figures she must be with Cecilia, who is also missing in action.

"And what do you think you're doing?" he asks as he crouches down. Annie grins and lets go of the table. The cast is bent at the knee and ankle in such a way to keep her from wiggling out of it, and to discourage her from walking, but she's determined and manages a few steps before tumbling into her father's arms. "You're something else, you know that?" He drops a kiss on her bright little head before releasing her.

"Ah, she's got a stubborn streak a mile wide," the nanny says fondly with a shake of her head. "Miss Independent doesn't want to be carried anywhere today."

Mark chuckles. "Yeah, that sounds like my little hurricane. Where's Cece?"

"Oh, Nora's getting her up from her nap now. She said they worked the poor wee thing terribly hard at physio today."

"Well, that is their job."

"Still. The poor dear was knackered when she got home. Barely stayed awake through lunch."

"Has Addison been up?"

"A couple times, just for a few minutes. She doesn't look well at all. I hope the little ones don't get it."

Suddenly they're interrupted by Emme thundering down the stairs and through the living room; Mark just barely manages to grab Annie before she topples over. "Em. Emme. _Emmeline_ ," he calls, and finally she skids to a stop. "What have I told you about running in the house?"

"Not to do it," she mumbles.

"You almost knocked your sister over. Please no running and be more careful before someone gets hurt. Okay?"

"Okay. Sorry," she huffs, looking not the tiniest bit contrite. "Erin, did you see my red sandals? I can't find them."

"Well, where did you leave them? I bet they're still there."

"If I _knew_ , I wouldn't have to ask you," Emme points out with one hand on her hip, giving Mark a terrifying glimpse into the teen years.

"Emme, don't be rude."

"Oh, it's alright, she does have a point, doesn't she? I think I saw them in the playroom, love."

Emme ducks into the playroom and Mark turns to the nanny. "I'm sorry about that. I'll have a talk with her about her manners."

Erin brushes it off. "She's just excited, that's all. I've heard about nothing but her camping trip all week! Can't quite picture that wee lass out in the woods, but I'm sure she'll have fun."

Seconds later Emme returns, wearing the sandals that perfectly match her red and white striped French sailor's shirt; slim-fitting denim capris and a large red bow holding her hair back from her face round out the ensemble. "My dad's coming soon. How do I look?" she asks as she flashes Mark a grin and strikes a pose.

Mark pats his knee. "You look beautiful. Now come over here." She skips over and he pulls her into his lap. "I love you."

She wraps an arm around his neck and kisses his cheek. "I love you more."

Before Mark can reply a horn honks, and Emme slides off his lap and runs to the front door. "Emme, no running in the...house," he trails off as she flings the door open and dashes down the steps.

…..

At six o'clock Mark pulls up in front of the Shepherd house. Derek is on the porch gathering up folding camp chairs and life vests while Emme and Riley chase each other around the yard with squirt guns shrieking joyously, completely oblivious to Mark's presence. "Hey, Em, it's time to go," Mark finally calls as he steps out of the car.

Emme pauses and looks over at him. "Oh, hi daddy!"

"I thought Addison was picking her up. That's the agreement," Derek says pointedly.

"Mommy barfed this morning!" Emme informs him with the same excitement one might have when announcing that their favorite baseball team has just won the world series.

"Emme, that's enough."

Derek snorts. "Stomach bug going around, or is it morning sickness?"

"Okay, that is none of your business, and-"

Of course Emme picks up on that. "What's morning sickness?"

Mark groans. "Nothing."

"It's when your mommy wants her own baseball team," Derek quips with a smirk as Mark's face goes bright red.

"Huh?" Emme cocks her head to the side, clearly puzzled. "Why does Mommy want a baseball team? She doesn't even like baseball."

"That's right, she doesn't. Now get your bag so we can go home."

Emme heads for the porch to grab her bag, but Riley squirts her and runs off laughing. Emme takes off after her. "Oh, I'm gonna get you!"

"Emmeline! I'm waiting! Say goodbye to Riley," Mark says firmly, though he tries to avoid sounding angry.

"Ugh, _fine_! Bye, Riley."

Riley throws her squirt gun on the ground and pouts. "No, don't go!"

"I gotta. But I'll be back Friday for our camping trip. That's only two days," Emme says cheerfully.

Riley holds up three fingers. "One, two, free."

Emme folds down one of Riley's fingers. "Nope, only two. This many." The girls walk to the porch together and hug one last time, then Derek hugs Emme.

"I'll see you on Friday. I'm really excited for our trip."

Emme gives him a kiss on the cheek. "Me too."

Mark barely suppresses an eyeroll and a groan at the drawn-out goodbye. "Come on, Em. The nannies left and mommy's alone with the little ones. We gotta go." Finally he grabs her hand and leads her off the porch as she waves and yells goodbye to Derek and Riley. "Oh, Em, your hands are all sticky! What did you eat?"

She giggles. "Pixy Stix! Grandma sent me an' Riley new water bottles and flashlights to take camping! And there was candy in the box, too!" she squeals as she climbs into her booster seat and fastens her belt.

"Oh great, just what you need, a sugar high," he mutters under his breath as he buckles himself in. They don't even make it to the end of the driveway before her notices the rhythmic tapping of her little feet on the back of his seat. "Em, stop kicking my seat."

"Sorry." She stops kicking and tries to sit still, but he can see her fidgeting in the mirror.

 _This is gonna be a long night_ , he thinks. "When we get home, I need you to be quiet so mommy can rest, okay? I don't want you getting crazy," he warns. She nods and gives a half-hearted okay, but he's pretty sure the request went in one ear and out the other.

He barely has the car parked before she's jumping out and darting inside. She finds Addison in the kitchen getting a glass of ginger ale and flings herself at her, wrapping her skinny arms tightly around her mother's waist. "Mommy! Are you better now?" she chirps.

Addison ruffles Emme's hair. "I feel a little better. Did you have a good time at your dad's?"

Emme nods enthusiastically. "Yeah! We had chicken and veggies on the grill, and he even got asparagus even though he hates it."

"Yeah, he never did like that."

"And we got a package from grandma. She sent me an' Riley new flashlights for camp. They're pink. And new water bottles. Mine has ladybugs and Riley's has birds, but we traded 'cause the ladybugs match Riley's rain boots."

"Oh, that's nice," Addison says, feigning interest. She's trying, but Mark can tell she just wants to get back to bed.

"Okay, Em-"

"Mommy, are you getting a baseball team?"

"What?"

"My dad said you want one, but I told him you don't even like baseball. Right?"

"Right…" Addison gives Mark a puzzled look.

"I'll tell you later. Emme, why don't you go play with your sisters?" he suggests.

"Can I have a snack?"

"You just had candy. You don't need a snack."

"But we ate dinner early," Emme whines. "I'm hungry."

"Must be a growth spurt," Addison muses. "You can have a piece of fruit, or yogurt. No junk."

"But I want pretzels! Pleeeeease?"

"You heard your mother. You want fruit, or yogurt?"

Emme huffs. "Fine. I'll have a banana."

Mark hands her a banana and sends her off to play with Cecilia and Annie.

"That was really good. I know she's getting on your nerves, but I really do appreciate you keeping your cool with her," Addison notes before she finishes her ginger ale and sets her glass in the sink. "Now I'm going back to bed if you don't mind."

"Not at all. I'll be up in a few minutes with the twins."

Mark checks on the older three and finds Emme reading to Annie and Cecilia in the playroom. Satisfied that they're staying out of trouble, he scoops Georgia and Everett up from their play mats and goes up to the nursery to put them to bed.

Georgia, as usual, goes down without a fight. Everett takes some work but eventually he's down for the count and Mark heads back downstairs for Annie. Just as he rounds the corner to the living room he hears a crash from the kitchen so he turns around to investigate and finds Emme standing on the counter, bag of pretzels in hand, the bottle drying rack on the floor with a dozen bottles and nipples scattered around.

He walks over, lifts her down, and takes the bag. "I told you no."

"Yeah, but Cece wanted a snack…"

"Emme, do not lie to me. Cece doesn't like pretzels. And even if she did, mommy and I said no. And you don't belong on the counter. Now these all have to be sterilized again. So you can pick everything up and put it in the sink, and when you're done I want you to go put your pajamas on, brush your teeth, and sit quietly in your room until I come to tuck you in."

"But it's not bed-"

He takes a deep breath and exhales slowly. "It is bedtime, because you knew what you did was wrong. Not another word or you'll go to bed early tomorrow, too."

He brings Annie upstairs, gives her a sponge bath, brushes her teeth, and gets her dressed for bed. In typical Annie fashion she falls asleep before he finishes her bedtime story - she may be a holy terror, but her one redeeming quality is the fact that she is, hands down, their best sleeper - so he tucks her in and goes to check on Emme.

Much to his chagrin, he finds her on the floor in her underwear surrounded by a half dozen Barbies and their entire wardrobe, her clothes in a heap in the corner.

"Excuse me, is that what I told you to do?"

She looks up at him with wide eyes. "No, but-"

"No buts. Pajamas on _now_."

With an exaggerated sigh she gets up and grabs a nightgown from her dresser. "But Cece's not in bed yet."

"Cece didn't disobey me. Now go brush your teeth." He follows her to the bathroom and stands in the doorway while she brushes her teeth and uses the toilet to make sure she's not fooling around, then orders her back to her room. "Now put your clothes in the hamper and pick the Barbies up."

"But I don't wanna."

"Em-"

"I'm gonna play with them in the morning."

"Pick. Them. Up."

Sensing the anger he's trying -with limited success - to hide, she scoops everything up and shoves it back in the case, then selects a book from the shelf.

"No book tonight."

"But we always read."

"But you're not listening to me. Get in bed."

"My dad never makes me go to bed this early."

"Well, I'm not Derek. Get in bed."

She slinks into bed and pouts as he tucks her in. He turns out the light and almost makes it to the door before she speaks up again; this time her voice is small and sad instead of defiant. "Daddy? Don't you still love me?"

"Of course I do." He sighs, shuffles back over to the bed and kisses her forehead. "I love you."

"I love you more."

"I love you the most. Now goodnight, sleep tight…"

"See you in the morning light."

…..

The next evening when Mark comes home Addison is in the kitchen stirring a pot of chicken soup. "How you feeling?"

"Only puked once today. I think I'm on the tail end of this thing."

"That's good. And none of the kids have it?"

"So far, so good. Fingers crossed." She tastes the soup and decides it's done. "Emme! Come set the table, please!"

They hear Emme racing down the stairs; she slows down when she rounds the corner and sees Mark there, and sets out silverware and cups without complaint.

Dinner goes off without a hitch, though Mark has to remind Emme more than once to stop talking and eat as she chatters excitedly about her upcoming vacation. Afterwards, he brings Annie and the twins to the living room while Emme clears the table, then returns to the kitchen to clean up. "Okay, kiddo, you go play and then when I'm done we'll make sure you have everything you need for your trip." He kisses the top of her head and sends her off with a playful shove.

She runs off, and seconds later they hear a thud, followed by hysterical crying; they run to the living room to find Annie on the floor, Emme sprawled out on top of her. In three long strides Mark is there, grabbing Emme by the arm and pulling her to her feet while Addison scoops Annie up and checks her over.

"Jesus, Em!" he shouts as he seats her none-too-gently on the couch. "Do you have any idea how badly you could have hurt her?"

Emme shrinks back into the corner of the couch. "I didn't mean to! I didn't see her!" she whimpers as she rubs her arm.

"If you listened to me when I said not to run in the house it wouldn't have happened!" he spits as she cowers. "How many times have I told you? Why don't you ever listen?"

"Mark, calm down. She's okay," Addison interjects as Annie continues to cry.

"How do you know? She could have re-broken her leg. We should probably go to the ER for x rays," Mark snaps before turning back to Emme. "You go upstairs, brush your teeth, put your pajamas on, and go to bed."

"But it's not-"

"I don't care what time it is! I don't want to see you for the rest of the night. Go!"

Emme summons up every bit of courage she can muster and stares him down. "But it was an accident! Why are you so mad? You didn't get mad when Cece hurt me on accident."

He clenches his fists and fights the urge to slap her. "It wasn't an accident! It wouldn't have happened if you listened to me. Now get your ass upstairs before I spank it!"

"Mark! _Calm down_!"

"Shut up, Addison! You, move it!"

"I'm not goin' upstairs! I'm goin' to my dad's house!"

"No you're not."

"Yes I am! He's my _real_ dad, and _he_ loves me!" Emme slips off the couch and manages to run past Mark to the kitchen, where she grabs the phone.

He catches up and snatches it from her. "Go to your room."

"He said I can call him any time! He loves me and he doesn't want me to be sad. He's a better dad than you!"

The words are barely out of Emme's mouth when Mark grabs her arm and delivers a half dozen swats to her backside. She yelps in surprise and whimpers as he stomps through the kitchen, down the hall, and up the stairs to her room. He shoves her inside and slams the door. "You won't set one foot outside that door if you know what's good for you!" he bellows before stomping back downstairs despite the heartbroken sobs coming from Emme's room.

In the living room Annie is still crying into Addison's shoulder while Cecilia peeks out from behind an easy chair, too frightened to move, and the twins wail frantically on their play mats. Addison swallows hard and swipes away a few tears before speaking up, her voice shaky despite her best efforts.

"Mark, what is wrong with you? The more you act like this, the more she's going to want to be with him...and I can't say I blame her."

He snatches Annie from her arms. "We're going to the hospital," he says, her words falling on deaf ears.

"She's fine. She's just scared...of you. You calm down, and she'll calm down."

She tries to take the baby back but he turns away, clipping her with his shoulder - hard. "I _said_ we're going to the hospital," he growls before walking out the door.

 **Ooo, that got dark and twisty in a hurry, huh? What will Mark do now? And Emme? Will this ruin the camping trip? Review, review, review to find out!**


	16. Chapter 16

" **I'm sad bc I'll never get ch 16." - winter machine. Girl, this chapter is for you! I'm sorry I'm awful and made you wait forever!**

 **To the...passionate anon reviewer who left me that delightful message to wake up to the other, thank you. Truly inspiring. It really encouraged me to get my ass in gear and finish this chapter...I appreciate it, and I'm sure my fans do, as well! I'm guessing you are writing a fic and are discouraged by a lack of validation while my fabulous readers are begging me to continue? It's okay. We all feel that way sometimes. I'm sorry you're drowning in a sea of jealousy and want to drag others down with you. Tell you what...you grow a set of balls, sign in to your account, and leave another review without cowering under the cloak of anonymity, and we can talk. Together we'll work through your hurt feelings or, if you prefer, you can just cry me a river and I'll help you build a bridge and get over it...or you can go live under that bridge like the troll you are. I find it laughable that, according to you, no one wants to find out what happens next when you yourself have read fifteen chapters of this story (and, I'm guessing, 20+ chapters of the previous one) and I get messages almost daily asking me to continue. But whatever. Let it be known that from here on out I will no longer waste my time worrying about insults hurled by angry anons who are too chicken to log in and say what they think. No, I won't be turning off anon reviews because then I'd be missing out on reviews from my fave guest readers like the always-amazing Patsy who, apparently, is my own personal rabid wolverine, ready to attack any and all nasty anons. (Thanks, Patsy! You're the very best MerDer fan out there and I appreciate your support!)**

It's closing in on midnight by the time Mark carries a peacefully slumbering Annie inside and tucks her into her crib. She had screamed most of the way to the hospital, and the ER had been busier than usual and radiology backed up for hours, but truthfully, he hadn't minded; the noise, the hustle and bustle of the overcrowded department served as a welcome distraction from the scene seared into his mind - Emme's uncharacteristic bravery as she tried to defend herself, her pain-stricken face as his open palm struck her bony little bottom, the terror in her eyes when he shoved her in her room. The silent, moonlit drive home, however, had given him more than enough time to think, to regret, to wish he'd done things differently, and he feels sick as he creeps down the hall peeking into deserted bedrooms before arriving at the master suite.

There he finds Addison in the middle of the bed, Emme plastered to her side with one pale arm draped across her mother's midsection, her worn-out lamb clutched in her hand. Cecilia's sprawled out on the other side, her springy curls fanning out over his pillow. The twins' travel cribs are set up along the far wall, and although he can't see them from where he is, he knows Georgia and Everett are inside.

He tiptoes to the bed and pulls up blankets kicked aside by restless sleepers, first tucking Cecilia in, then moving to the other side to cover Emme. His throat tightens when he gets a close-up look at the skin left bare by her little pink summer nightie. Dark bruises dot her upper arm where he'd grabbed her - not once but twice, he remembers with suffocating guilt - and he wishes more than anything that he could turn back the clock and redo the evening.

With a sigh he grabs a pair of pajama pants and turns off the bedside lamp before tiptoeing out, then creeps downstairs to crash on the couch, wondering exactly how the scene unfolded after his stormy exit as he falls into a fitful sleep.

…..

 _The door slams and she considers calling the nannies but thinks better of it; the fewer people who know about tonight's blow up, the better. The twins are still wailing, and Cecilia has yet to emerge from her hiding place, but, unlike Emme, at least she knows they are unharmed and safe where they are._

" _Hey, Cece, I'm just going upstairs for a minute to check on Emme. Can you be a big helper and watch the twins for me?" she chirps, hoping she sounds calmer than she feels._

 _Cecilia crawls out from behind the chair, eyes still wide and frightened behind her blue-framed glasses, and nods solemnly as she uses the ottoman to pull herself to her feet; Addison pretends not to notice the slight tremble of the girl's little pink lips and forces a smile before hurrying upstairs._

 _She feels physically ill as she gets closer to Emme's room. She'd heard Mark strike her, heard Emme's whimpers and yelps, but, not wanting to jostle Annie's leg, hadn't made it to the kitchen in time to see what was going on; her only glimpse of Emme had been from behind as Mark dragged her upstairs, and the thought of what she might find is terrifying._

 _What she actually finds, however, isn't terrifying at all - pitiful and heartbreaking, yes, but not terrifying. Emme's frozen in place - presumably the exact spot where Mark left her - flushed cheeks streaked with tears, nose running, pants wet, but not a scratch, bruise, or red mark in sight._

 _Addison lets out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding, falls to her knees, and pulls Emme into her arms - urine, snot and all - and holds her close; she feels Emme's arms tighten around her neck, slender fingers clinging to her shirt._

" _It's okay, baby, it's okay. You're alright," she whispers over and over while Emme sobs into her shoulder, though she's fairly certain neither of them believe it._

 _Eventually the sobs slow, and Emme sniffles and sputters a bit before speaking. "I wanna go to my dad's house," she says as she pulls back and wipes her nose on the back of her hand. "Call my dad. I wanna go to his house."_

" _Honey, it's getting late. He's probably putting Riley to bed," Addison reasons, but Emme's well beyond the point of reason by now._

" _Call my dad! He said I can call him any time. I wanna talk to him!"_

" _We can't call him right now, love bug. But how about we get you in the bath?"_

" _No, I wanna call my dad. I want him to come get me before daddy gets home."_

 _She knows she's cemented her "world's worst mother" status when she wishes, for just the briefest of moments, that they'll find a reason to keep Annie overnight. "He won't be home for a while. You'll be asleep by then and you won't have to see him," she explains. Her mother's instinct tells her Annie is fine, but they'll probably do x rays in the ER. That should keep them there at least a couple hours. She briefly considers calling Mark, telling him not to bother coming home, but he has Annie and that doesn't sit well with her - not that she thinks he'll hurt her, but then again she'd never thought he would hurt Emme either._

 _Emme doesn't look overly impressed with this but doesn't argue; she looks too tired to argue, and simply goes along when Addison places a hand on her shoulder and guides her to the bathroom._

 _Addison starts filling the tub, adding a generous squirt of lavender bubble bath - expensive stuff from France with_ real _lavender, not that awful artificial stuff that gives her a headache and makes her sneeze - before turning her attention to Emme. She grabs a few tissues to wipe her nose, then removes her sodden clothing and lifts her into the tub._

 _Emme just sits in the warm water, eyes downcast as she runs a hand through the scented bubbles, the lavender appearing to have the calming effect Addison was aiming for. After a while she glances up and speaks, her voice hoarse from crying. "Mom, why's daddy so mad at me? I didn't mean to hurt Annie."_

" _Honey, he's not mad at you-"_

 _She's immediately on the defensive. "He is too! He yelled at me_ and _hit me!"_

" _I'm sorry he did that, baby. Where did he hit you?"_

 _Emme reaches back and rubs her bottom. "It really hurt. He is too mad!"_

 _He spanked her. This is surprising because it's something they're both against, and was no doubt a shock to a child who has never experienced it, but it could have been worse. So much worse. "You're right. He is mad, but he's not really mad at you. He's mad at someone else, and when Annie got hurt he just...he took it out on you, and that was wrong."_

" _He doesn't love me any more. My dad loves me. Daddy doesn't."_

 _Addison reaches out and tilts Emme's face up so their eyes meet. "Daddy does love you. I know this is hard to understand, but...do you remember last week when Cece got mad and hit Annie because I said she had to share her cookies, and she didn't want to?"_

" _Yeah."_

" _Well, that's what's going on with daddy. It's really hard for him to share you with your dad because he loves you so much, and that's why he's mad. And I think his feelings are hurt because he's scared that maybe you love your dad more than you love him. But that doesn't make it okay for him to hurt you."_

" _What if he does it again?"_

 _Addison feels her heart shatter, because, short of keeping Mark away from Emme, there's really no way to ensure it doesn't happen again. "Remember in New York when you were sad, and angry, and confused, and you went to talk to Doctor Greene and it helped you feel better? I'm gonna help daddy find someone he can talk to to make him feel better. And maybe we'll find someone you can talk to, too. Would you like that?"_

 _Emme mulls it over for a minute before nodding slightly. Addison leans forward and kisses her forehead. "Okay. When you come back from your camping trip we'll do that."_

 _By now the water is turning cold and Emme shivers, so Addison lifts her out and wraps her in a fluffy, white hooded unicorn towel. "I'm gonna go get your brother and sisters. You get your jammies on and pick out a book, and you can sleep in my room tonight, okay?"_

 _Emme nods again. "Okay."_

 _Addison gets downstairs to find Cecilia sitting - w-sitting, to be exact, which her physical therapist says they should discourage, but this is hardly the time to worry about that - between the twins' play mats. Georgia is gnawing on a teething toy, her chubby little legs kicking contentedly, but Everett is fussing - no longer full-out crying, but whimpering - as Cecilia offers him a rattle and coos at him. They're surrounded by an assortment of toys and even a half-empty bottle the girl must have swiped from the kitchen counter and Addison knows it was no small feat for Cecilia to gather everything and bring it to her brother. The thoughtful gesture, however ineffective, brings tears to her eyes; it's especially touching since, until now, Cecilia's remained rather indifferent towards her youngest siblings._

" _Hey, look at you," she gushes with false cheerfulness, causing Cecilia's head to whip around and Everett to calm at the sound of his mother's voice. "What a good babysitter you are!"_

 _Despite the praise, Cecilia immediately goes from nurturing big sister to clingy toddler and reaches out to be held. She doesn't say anything at first, just snuggles into Addison's shoulder. "Daddy's mad," she finally states quietly as she runs a hand through her mother's hair._

" _He is mad, but he's not mad at you."_

" _He's mad 'cause Emme's bad?"_

" _No, Emme's not bad. Daddy's just upset about...some other stuff."_

" _Is he comin' home?"_

" _Probably not til later, peanut. After you're asleep."_

 _After a brief snuggle Addison puts Cecilia down. "I'm going to bring the twins upstairs. I'll be right back for you, okay?"_

 _She intends to run them up and come back down, but when she picks Georgia up she realizes the poor girl is overdue for a change - she's wet through her diaper, leaving her with a very damp onesie, which obviously requires an immediate change. By the time Georgia is settled on the bed with Everett and Emme - who is already under the covers with her lamb and a copy of Stuart Little - and she heads back downstairs, Cecilia is on her way up. She's worked on stairs in physical therapy, but with her poor balance and lack of strength she finds them intimidating and has never attempted them of her own free will; Addison is torn between feeling proud, and heartbroken. She's tempted to let her finish, but Cecilia's only four steps up and already struggling, so she goes down to get her._

" _Wow, good job on those stairs!" she praises as she picks Cecilia up. The toddler looks at her sadly._

" _I was all alone," she announces forlornly._

" _I told you I'd be back for you."_

" _But you didn't come! It was scary!"_

 _It takes lots of cuddles before Cecilia allows Addison to put her down long enough to get ready for bed but eventually all four kids are in their pajamas, teeth brushed and diapers changed where applicable, and piled in bed. Addison dashes back downstairs for bottles for the twins and sippy cups of water for the big girls, then settles into bed to read._

 _Two chapters later the twins are done with their bottles and Cecilia is already asleep. Addison moves the twins to their travel cribs and gets ready for bed before slipping under the covers. She tries to turn the bedside lamp on but Emme tearfully requests to have it left on. She gives in and lies down, thankful when Emme finally falls asleep almost an hour later._

… _.._

In the morning Addison is jolted awake by a whimper, but the twins are still asleep in their cribs and she almost drifts back to sleep before when she hears it again. _Annie._ She glances at the monitor and watches the toddler struggle to roll over - the cast doesn't make it easy - and is about to get up when Annie finally settles down and, apparently satisfied now that she's repositioned herself, goes back to sleep. Nevertheless, according to the alarm clock the twins will be awake soon enough, so she carefully rolls Emme's warm little body to the side and slips out bed.

She peeks in on Annie - snoring lightly with a plush Cookie Monster tucked under one arm - before trudging downstairs. She finds Mark in the kitchen, slumped against the counter waiting for the coffee to finish brewing - and looking like all the coffee in Seattle isn't enough to get him through this day.

"So, I take it Annie's okay?" she asks. "You didn't call…"

He nods, his eyes not quite meeting hers.

 _He's stretched out on the gurney, Annie nestled in the crook of one arm, when a voice startles him. "You know, you really gotta stop throwing this baby down the stairs."_

" _Nobody threw her down the stairs," he snaps defensively, earning himself an impressive eyeroll from the tall, dark haired doctor._

" _Chill, I'm joking. So what's up?"_

 _Mark explains the situation and his concerns, and Callie glances at Annie. She's sucking on two fingers contentedly and watching some cartoon he had pulled up on his phone; if she's in pain, it certainly doesn't show._

" _I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say she's fine."_

" _You didn't hear her screaming. She was hysterical, okay, and-"_

" _Well, I'm guessing getting bodyslammed on a hardwood floor isn't her idea of fun," Callie says lightly, "and I'm sure it didn't feel good, but I don't think there's any damage done. But you can never be too careful with little ones, so we'll get an x ray to be sure the fracture wasn't displaced"_

 _It takes longer than usual, but the x rays finally come back and, as expected, Annie's leg is fine. Callie loads Annie up with stickers and lollipops, and they're on their way._

"She's fine," he says, his voice gravely. "How's Emme? Is she okay?"

She wants to scream and shout that _no, Emme is most definitely not okay_. Instead, she bites her lip and takes a few calming breaths before addressing him. "Physically? She's a little bruised-"

He hangs his head. "Yeah, I saw that last night, when I got home," he mutters, sounding sorrier than she's ever heard him.

 _So that's why the light was off_. "The bruises will be gone in a few days. Physically, she'll be fine. Emotionally? Gonna take more than a few days to fix that."

"Is...is she mad at me?"

"Mad at you? No, I don't think mad is quite the word," she says, getting a bit more heated. "She was terrified, Mark. _Terrified_. She was so scared she wet her pants, and begged me to call Derek to come get her because she was afraid of seeing you when you got home. So no, she's not mad at you. She's afraid of you. To be honest, I think mad would be an improvement."

"Like... _really_ scared of me?" He cringes as he says the words, then turns and stares blankly out the window at the sunless gray sky - but not before she notices the moisture in his eyes.

"Terrified," she repeats as she pours herself a cup of coffee. She tries to take a sip but the smell turns her stomach, and she opts for a bottle of water instead. "What the hell happened, Mark?"

He shrugs and presses his lips into a thin line. "I spanked her," he finally says, though he knows it isn't the answer she's looking for.

"Yeah, I know. She told me. But we don't spank! We said that right from the get-go, and then you went and threw it right out the window. Why?"

"Because! She talks back, she doesn't listen to me, she throws fits like she's three years old-"

"Bullshit! Remember last year, when we first came out here and she was scared of the shots, and the apheresis? And even after we went back to New York? She was a mess. The meltdowns, the backtalk, it was awful. But you were so good with her, so patient and gentle-"

"That was different. She was hurt, and scared-"

"It's not different! She's still hurt, and scared, and confused. This is hard for her, all of it - moving, becoming part of Derek's family, having new babies in both houses and other siblings that require extra attention. She's having a hard time dealing with all that, just like last year. So why can't you cut her some slack now and _help_ her instead of hurting her? What is different this time?"

She sees the muscles in his back tense up, his hands clench into fists, before he turns around. Now anger flashes in his eyes instead of sadness. "She said he's a better father! After everything I've done, everything I've been there for...the sleepless nights, the doctor's visits, the dance recitals and school concerts...I have been there for _everything_ , but now he's taking her camping and suddenly he's a better dad? That's bullshit! It's not fair!"

"I know it's not, Mark. For five years you were the only father she knew - the best father she could have asked for - and then he came along and swept her off her feet with his presents and ice cream and one-on-one time and no rules and all his other happy horseshit. You're right, it's not fair...but it's also not her fault, and you can't keep taking it out on her!"

"I know that, Addidon! I just...she said that, and I snapped. And I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry and I swear to God it will never happen again-"

"Damn right it won't, because you're going to find a therapist."

"Oh, come on! I don't need a therapist!"

"You don't get a say in this! You go to therapy and figure out how to deal with your feelings, or you can find somewhere else to live."

"Addison-"

"I'm not kidding, Mark! You think Derek won't notice the bruises and ask what happened? I'm certainly not about to tell her she can't talk about it and set her up for a lifetime of abuse because she thinks it's something to hide! I don't think a spanking and a few bruises is enough for him to get custody of her, but if it becomes a habit? You know he'll be watching her like a hawk for any little sign that something's wrong, and I am not about to lose her because you can't keep your temper in check! Go to therapy, or get out! Got it?"

He hangs his head and sighs before nodding slowly. She takes pity on him and joins him, lacing her fingers through his.

"We're gonna get through this, Mark. We are. And for what it's worth, you're not the only one who needs help. I'm getting Emme back into counseling as soon as she comes back from vacation, and...and I think maybe we could benefit from family therapy. All three of us. We'll figure it out. You can find better ways to deal with your feelings, we'll figure out how to handle Emme when she's out of control, how to deal with Derek when he's being an insufferable bastard…"

Mark can't help but chuckle a little at that. "He is an insufferable bastard, isn't he?"

"He is, sometimes. But he's her father, and somehow the three of us need to figure out a way to get along for Emme's sake. All the fighting, the insults, the sly little digs...none of that is good for her, so that is something we need to work on. It might not be easy, but we can do this, Mark. We'll do it together, and we're gonna be okay...if you try. For real try, not just 'stuff your feelings in until the next time Emme challenges you' try. It's going to take some work, but we'll fix this."

He sighs again. "Yeah...if she ever talks to me again."

"She will. Just be patient and give her some time and space, if she needs it."

She gives his hand a squeeze before preparing a few bottles, knowing the twins will be awake and hungry very soon. He's finishing his coffee when they hear little footsteps above them a few minutes later. It's quiet for a moment, then a toilet flushes, and soon the footsteps trail up the hall and slowly down the stairs.

"Hey, love bug! Did you sleep well?" Addison asks cheerfully when Emme peeks nervously around the corner into the kitchen. For a second Emme relaxes, allowing Addison to scoop her up, and rests her chin on her mother's shoulder. But suddenly Emme realizes they're not alone in the kitchen - Addison can tell, because her daughter's body goes rigid, arms and legs wrapping tightly around her.

"Hey, Em, it's okay. It's alright, daddy's not mad," she says soothingly as she turns to face Mark, who is approaching cautiously from the other end of the room. Clearly Emme isn't convinced, because she whimpers and tightens her grip on Addison.

Addison turns slightly so Mark can see Emme's face. He reaches out to brush her dark, disheveled hair away from her eyes but she flinches, and he recoils as if he'd been burned while she buries her face in Addison's shoulder.

"Emme, look at me, please," he begs softly, aching to hold and comfort her but resisting the urge. "I'm sorry, Em, I'm so, so sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you, love bug, and I swear I'll never do it again. I promise. Please, just look at me."

Instead, Emme moves her head to Addison's other shoulder and he sighs. Addison gives him a sad smile as she rubs Emme's back and sways gently. "Give her time," she tells him quietly, and he retreats upstairs to get ready for work.

With Mark gone she pries Emme off of her and fixes Emme's requested breakfast - English muffins with raspberry jam, chocolate milk, and a bowl of fresh berries and grapes - and runs upstairs to get the twins. Cecilia, now curled up in the center of the bed, is still asleep; so, too, is Annie when Addison peeks in on her way back downstairs, and Addison figures after the late night in the ER she'll be out at least another hour or two.

When Mark comes back downstairs with Cecilia - not scared, but not her usual bubbly self - on one hip, the twins are in their high chairs and Emme, cheeks smudged with jam, is perched on Addison's knee. The two of them are spooning mashed bananas into the twins' waiting mouths, though Emme sets the spoon down and curls into Addison when she sees him.

He sets Cecilia in her booster seat and gets her a cup of milk before approaching the others. He squats down to be at eye level with Emme; she doesn't turn away, but she averts her gaze downward and shrinks back. "Listen to me, Em. I'm so sorry I hurt you. I never wanted to hurt you, you gotta believe me. I'll never hit you again."

"Daddy said he's sorry, now you say 'I forgive you,'" Cecilia coaches from her seat. "That's what you're 'posed to do."

Emme's head whips around at the sound of her sister's voice. When she turns back around she stares up at him and he thinks she's going to speak, but in a flash her eyes are downcast again, her little pink lips pursed as she fidgets with the hem of her nightie.

With a dejected sigh he stands up. "Okay, well, I gotta go to work. You have fun on your camping trip, and I'll see you when you get home, okay?"

She doesn't reply, but gives him the slightest nod. He's tempted to say more, to see if he can draw her a little farther out of her shell, but at that moment Everett decides he's sick of waiting for the rest of breakfast. He bangs both pudgy hands on the highchair tray and starts screeching, and Georgia begins to fuss. It's useless to try to talk over the noise, and he's running late for work anyways. "Have a good time, love bug. I love you the most," he says before hurrying out the door.

…..

Derek comes home after a last-minute trip to the grocery store for an extra pack of diapers and road trip snacks to find Meredith opening a package in the dining room. "Look what just came in the mail!" she says excitedly as she tears into the box. Aren't they beautiful?"

He watches as she spreads the prints from their family portrait session out on the table. "This one's going in the nursery, over the crib," she announces gleefully as she holds up a large photo of Brendan snoozing in a tin bucket, arms folded on the edge, one chubby cheek resting on his hands. She sets it down and selects another print, this one of all four of them. She has Brendan cradled in one arm, her other arm wrapped around Derek's waist. Derek has one arm around her shoulders; with his free hand he's holding on to Riley, who is perched on his shoulders and grinning merrily. "I want this one in our room, and that one," she points to a photo of Riley sitting cross-legged on a blanket with Brendan curled up on her lap, "in the hallway. What do you think?"

He studies the photos and admits that Meredith wasn't wrong in insisting that they use this photographer; the photos are absolutely stunning. And yet, there's something missing. "They're great," he says with a forced smile before kissing her forehead. "I'll hang them as soon as we get home."

"We'll get pictures done with Emme," she says as if she'd read his mind. "This fall. We'll get photos with all of us for Christmas cards, I promise."

He nods. "Yeah. And speaking of Emme, I'm going to pick her up and we should be ready to get this show on the road."

Derek leaves and Meredith starts to gather up the photos but Brendan grunts from his bouncy seat on the table, his little face turning red as he fills his diaper. "What are you doing there, buddy?" she coos as she sets the photos aside and reaches for him. He responds by pushing again, and she laughs at the surprisingly loud noises coming from such a little body. "Oh, goodness, we better get you changed, little man!" She groans a little when she realizes not everything was contained in the diaper. "Well, at least you did it here and not in the car," she reasons as heads for the nursery.

…..

Emme's waiting on the front porch swing with Addison when Derek arrives; Cecilia's inside wailing inconsolably, not convinced that a week and a half isn't forever, and screaming that she wants to go with Emme. Emme, who has perked up considerably since Mark left, slides off the swing and bounces down the stairs. Addison follows with Emme's little bag packed with her blanket and all the stuffed animals necessary for sleeping - right now that includes Clover the lamb, the sloth, and her otter.

"Hey, kiddo! You ready to go?" Derek asks as Emme climbs in.

"Uh huh! Did you pack my water bottle and flashlight from grandma?"

"I sure did, and your new clothes and hiking boots. I think we have everything."

Once Emme's buckled in Addison hands her her bag and leans in for a kiss. "You have fun and be a good girl."

"I will." Emme pauses, then pulls the otter out of her bag. "Can you give this to Cece so she doesn't miss me? Not to keep, just while I'm gone. And I can call every night to talk to her, right?"

"Of course you can...if your father's phone works out in the woods. And I'm sure this will make her feel better."

After one last hug and kiss Addison closes the door and looks at her ex-husband. "Derek…" She briefly considers mentioning last night's incident, but thinks better of it. "I...uh...I already gave her a dose of Dramamine, so it has time to kick in," she finally says as he stares at her expectantly. "Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't, so, uh, good luck with that."

"We'll be fine. Not my first time dealing with a puking kid," he reminds her neutrally.

"Right. Okay, well, bon voyage, then. Bye, love bug!" Addison waves until the car is out of sight, then sighs as she goes inside to deal with Cecilia's meltdown.

 **Well, that was a long one, but all you rockstar reviewers deserve it after I made you wait so long! My apologies for the delay. Thanks so much to each of you for reviewing and for checking in on me! I struggled with this chapter for many reasons that I won't get into now, and I don't totally love it, but I couldn't make you wait any longer. I must warn you that updates will be slow from now through New Years, but I will try to get a few chapters up. Also, I have a little Thanksgiving one-shot in the works, so keep an eye out for that! Love you all and hope you have a great Thanksgiving (well, my American readers, anyway).**


	17. Chapter 17

**Hey guys! I'm back from the dead! Well, not really the dead, everything's fine here but I've been running a little low on motivation and inspiration and, honestly, it was really good to take a break from writing. I'm ready to jump back in and wrap this story up, though! Just a few more chapters and it'll be done.**

 **I dedicate this chapter to the best MerDer fan out there, Patsy! Thanks for checking in on me periodically. These 3,000 words of mostly Grey-Shepherd fluff are for you! I hope you've recovered from the flu.**

"Are we there yet?"

"Actually...we are. Thank God." Derek muttered the last two words under his breath before turning to smile at Emme, whose booster seat was sandwiched between her younger siblings' car seats. All-in-all the trip had gone smoothly, with Brendan napping for a good portion of the drive and Emme alternating between singing along with the radio and coming up with games to amuse Riley. About two-thirds of the way to their destination they had stopped for a bathroom break, snacks, and to let the girls burn off some energy by running around.

The younger two were asleep almost immediately after getting back on the road; Emme held out a whopping fifteen minutes before joining them, and Derek and Meredith revelled in the silence. Unfortunately, it was short-lived. Half an hour into her nap, as they were navigating a narrow, winding country road with nowhere safe to pull over, Emme woke up looking rather green, and that was where everything went downhill. She had begged Derek to pull over, but the best he could do was roll down the windows in the hopes that some fresh air would help while Meredith passed her the bucket they'd brought along just in case.

It had only gotten worse from there. The rush of wind woke both little ones, leaving Meredith and Derek with an inconsolable infant for the remainder of the drive; Riley spent the time complaining loudly about the wind in her face and her brother's screaming, with an occasional "mommy, it's _stinky_ ," thrown in, her little button nose pinched for good measure.

But that's all behind them now, Derek tells himself. As soon as they pull up to the cabin Meredith jumps out and rescues Riley from her car seat, then grabs the bucket so Emme can climb out while Derek gets the baby. He rounds the vehicle just in time to see Meredith jump back as Emme's stomach heaves yet again while Riley watches, her facial expression a hilarious combination of disgust and delight.

"Daddy, Emme frowed up again!" she squeals, her nose wrinkling as she inches forward to examine the mess in the grass. "It's yucky!"

"That's enough. Go inside with mommy," he orders as he passes the baby to his wife along with the keys. "Go!" he repeats, a bit more sternly this time, when she hesitates, sending her scurrying after Meredith. "You okay, kiddo?"

Emme responds by leaning over and retching again. He rubs her back and holds her hair away from her face, although the damage had already been done, then hands her a bottle of water when the vomiting has finally ended. "All done?"

She nods, so he grabs the diaper bag and Emme's suitcase - everything else can wait - and ushers her inside.

"Bathroom's over there," Meredith points out from her spot on the couch where she sits nursing Brendan.

He nods appreciatively. "Go ahead, I'll be right there," he instructs Emme before dropping the diaper bag on the coffee table and locating the room the girls would be sharing. After setting her suitcase on the double bed and selecting a clean tee shirt and shorts he joins Emme in the bathroom. He run a bath while she gets undressed and is about to lift her into the big clawfoot tub when he notices the bruises dotting her upper arm. "Emme, what happened to your arm?"

She glances down and shrugs. "Nothin'."

"Em, that isn't nothing. It looks like it hurts." He gently traces the dark marks with one finger, but draws back when she winces. "Come on, you can tell me what happened. Who did this to you?"

She stares at the floor and traces designs in the fluffy white bath mat with her toe. "Nobody. It was an accident."

"Was it your mom?" he probes gently.

Her head snaps up and he is taken aback by the fire in her eyes. "My mom wouldn't hurt me! I told you, it was an _accident_."

"Okay, was it your daddy?"

She purses her lips and looks away, clearly done with the interrogation. Subsequent attempts at questioning fail to draw a response so finally he just lifts her into the tub and gently cleans her up, carefully inspecting every inch of porcelain flesh for additional injuries; to his relief he finds none.

By the time she's clean and dressed she looks a little more relaxed, though her eyelids are drooping as she shuffles into the living room; clearly the motion sickness has worn her out. "You can take a nap while Meredith and I unpack, if you want," he suggests, and she nods. "I'll wake you up when it's time for dinner."

Meredith is changing Riley's diaper on the couch so Emme flops down on the loveseat; she's out like a light in under a minute, and doesn't stir while Derek and Meredith lug suitcases, duffle bags, and coolers inside and bustle around unpacking clothes and filling the refrigerator with Riley running around underfoot and Brendan babbling happily in his bouncy seat. Finally they're finished, and not a minute too soon because Riley starts whining that she's hungry.

Derek gets a fire started outside while Meredith rounds up plates, cups, and utensils. When they're ready he wakes Emme up.

"But there's no food!" Emme observes when she peeks into the kitchen.

"That's because we're eating outside. Come on."

Emme follows Derek outside where Meredith and the little ones are sitting around a fire. She looks puzzled when she finds the picnic table almost empty. "That's all we're having?" she asks as she eyes the small container of potato salad and tray of cut watermelon. "But I'm _hungry_!"

He holds up a package of hot dogs. "We gotta cook them first."

"Hot dogs?"

"Yeah, don't you like hot dogs?" he asks, puzzled by her skeptical expression. Sure, they've never had hot dogs when she's been over for dinner but he hadn't thought it would be a problem since she'll eat just about anything.

"Yeah…" she says, sounding a bit uncertain, "but...but mom says they're a choking hazard, 'cause they're round," she finally adds, with a nervous glance in Riley's direction.

"Of course she does," he mutters with an eyeroll. Most kids her age can barely _say_ choking hazard, while she can not only say it, but use it correctly in a sentence. Somehow, it's not surprising. "Em, it'll be fine. We'll make sure she eats carefully, okay?"

She sighs warily, looking unconvinced. "Okay…but how are you gonna cook them out _here_ , when the stove is in _there_?"

He grins and pierces a hot dog with a long skewer. "Like this."

"Really?" Emme watches in disbelief as he holds it over the fire. "But...won't it catch on fire?"

"Nope, not if you watch it carefully. Here, you do it." He pats the chair next to him and waits for Emme to be seated before he hands the stick over.

Riley runs over and tries to grab the skewer. "I do it!" she squeals before Derek snags her and pulls her onto his lap.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! What did I tell you about the fire," he asks as the toddler squirms, trying to break free. "Riley, what did I say?"

She sighs and gives up her attempt to escape. "Don't touch! It's _hot_. Ouch!" she says dramatically, her hazel eyes wide.

"That's right. And no…"

"Running." Riley wiggles around until she's facing Derek and places one small hand on either side of his face. "Daddy, I am _so sorry_ , but I'm _so hungry_!"

He has to laugh at her overly dramatic apology. "I'm sure you are. Let's fix that." He spears two more hot dogs and wrestles with Riley for control; eventually she agrees to let him help her. "Whoa, I think you're done, Em!" he exclaims when he's finally able to turn his attention back to his oldest child. Her hotdog isn't burned, exactly, but is definitely a bit charred in spots. "I can eat that one and make you a new one, if you want," he offers.

"No, it's okay," she says as she studies the hotdog with furrowed brows, "but how...ow!"

Meredith jumps up from her folding chair when Emme attempts to pull the hotdog off the skewer with her fingers. "Here, let me help you." They move to the picnic table and somehow, despite cradling Brendan in one arm, she manages to get the hotdog into a bun and on a plate. "You want ketchup, or mustard?"

"Both! I can do it!" Emme carefully adds a neat squiggle of mustard, then grabs the ketchup and gives it a squeeze. She gasps loudly when a large blob ends up on her shirt, but Meredith just laughs and reaches for a napkin.

"It's okay, Em. It'll come out in the wash."

A few minutes later, Derek and Riley join them at the picnic table. Derek puts one hotdog on a bun and leans in to kiss Meredith. "For you, my dear." Then he cuts the other one into small pieces for Riley - Emme gives a nod of approval - with a squirt of ketchup for dipping. Once she's settled with her plate of food, he returns to the fire to cook one for himself.

Soon, Emme is at his side. "Can I have another one?"

"You ate that already?"

She nods enthusiastically. "I told you I was hungry! It was _good_!"

He smiles, glad that his little city girl seems to be handling camp life just fine. "Of course you can have another."

…..

It's cooler up on the mountain, and by the time they finish eating it's getting downright chilly. When Riley shivers, Meredith goes inside and returns with two pink plaid flannels. She tosses one to Emme, and helps Riley into the other.

Riley immediately runs to Emme. "Emme, look! We're the same!"

"We are! I match with my other sisters all the time," Emme says a bit wistfully as she runs her fingers along a brightly-colored, striped hammock hanging between two trees. Derek worries for a moment that she might be feeling homesick, but she changes the subject abruptly. "Dad, can I get up here?" she asks excitedly, and squeals with delight when he picks her up and deposits her on the hammock.

Riley tugs on his pants. "Me too! Up! Up!" Emme doesn't object, so Derek sets Riley next to Emme, and she snuggles up to her big sister.

Emme points up. "Look at all the fireflies!"

Riley stifles a yawn and rubs her eyes with balled up fists. "Wow! That's a lot of fire fliers!"

"Uh huh! Some people call them lightning bugs."

Derek smiles and joins Meredith, who has returned to her canvas chair by the fire, as the girls giggle and talk. "I give it half an hour before they're both asleep," he says as he takes Brendan and sits down. "Riley's already yawning."

Half an hour later the fire has died down. Derek checks on the girls and, sure enough, they're both sound asleep. "I'll come back for Emme if you can get Riley," he says to Meredith before bringing the baby inside and tucking him into the bassinet by their bed. Then he returns outside and gently shakes Emme. "Emme, time to get ready for bed."

"But I like it here! Can't I sleep outside?" she mumbles, her eyes still closed.

"No, I think the mosquitos would eat you alive," he argues as he picks her up.

"Oh." She rests her head on one shoulder and wraps an arm around the other as he carries her inside. "Are we gonna cook hotdogs outside every night?"

He makes his way to the bathroom and sits her on the counter. "No, not every night. But we'll do some other fun stuff for dinner, okay?"

"Okay." She allows him to brush her teeth for her, then almost dozes off when he sits her on the toilet. Back in the girls' room, where Riley is already tucked in and snoring with Elmo hugged to her chest, he barely manages to get her pajamas on before she falls asleep. He turns on a nightlight and creeps out, leaving the door open just a crack.

He finds Meredith in the master bath brushing her teeth. "Well, all things considered, I'd say that was a pretty good first day, don't you think?" he asks as he grabs his toothbrush.

"It was," she agrees after spitting and rinsing her mouth. "Let's just hope the next ten days go as well."

…..

It's late - two fifteen, according to the alarm clock on his nightstand - when he finds himself being shaken awake. He opens his eyes to see Meredith nursing Brendan, and for a split second feels guilty for not even hearing the baby wake up. He doesn't have time to dwell on it, though, because Meredith breaks the silence.

"I think Emme's having a nightmare," she says, sounding concerned, and seconds later he hears a faint cry. He's on his feet immediately, stumbling through the dark to the girls' room.

He flicks on the light and finds Emme thrashing wildly, the covers tangled around her. "Em, hey, Emme, wake up," he says as he shakes her by the shoulder. "Come on, wake up. That's a good girl. You're okay."

Emme bursts into tears and Derek pulls her onto his lap. "Hey, you're alright. It was just a dream," he soothes as he rubs soft circles on her back while she cries into his shoulder. "Shh. It was only a dream. You're okay now." He waits a few minutes for the choking sobs to turn into sniffles and hiccups before he pulls her back enough to see her face. "You want to tell me about your dream?" She just shakes her head and leans back into him. "Come on, sometimes it helps to talk about it," he urges, but her lips are sealed.

Finally he feels her go limp as she drifts back off to sleep. Moving carefully, he gets her back under the covers and tucks her lamb, sloth, and blanket in on either side of her, and kisses her forehead before shuffling back to his room.

"Everything okay?" Meredith asks. The baby is back in his bassinet, but she's still sitting up waiting for him.

"Yeah, like you said, just a bad dream," he says as he climbs back into bed.

"Just a bad dream? You look pretty worried for just a bad dream," she observes.

"Yeah, it's just...she has these bruises, on her arm. Like someone grabbed her too hard. I saw them when I gave her a bath earlier, and I get the feeling the nightmare had something to do with it. She swears Addison didn't do it, and said it was an accident, but then when I asked if Mark did it, she clammed up. I never imagined he would hurt her, but then again I never imagined he'd screw my wife, so…"

"So...what? What if it was him? I'm not condoning it Derek, really I'm not, and two wrongs don't make a right, but...I seem to recall another incident from when she first came to Seattle…"

His cheeks redden at the memory. "But that...you didn't _see_ these bruises! I swear to God, if he's hurting her…"

"What are you going to do about it now?" she says with a sigh as she flops back down on her pillow. "I'm not saying it's right, or that you shouldn't be concerned, but it's the middle of the night and we're in the middle of nowhere! You don't know the full story. Maybe something happened with one of the other kids like that night with Riley. It's easy to overreact. It happens. She's fine, and unless she actually says he hurt her, there's not a whole lot you can do about it, so let it go. We'll keep a closer eye on her once we get home, and if anything comes up we'll deal with it, but for now let's just enjoy our vacation, okay?"

He turns the light out and pulls the covers up. "Fine."

…..

But it's not fine. It's still bothering him when he wakes up the next morning so, after making sure everyone else is still asleep, he grabs his phone and goes outside. It's early, but Addison always was an early riser and he can't imagine that's changed with five children.

It rings a few times and he's about to hang up when she answers. "You better not be calling to tell me my kid got eaten by a bear," she grumbles in lieu of hello, good morning, or any other civilized greeting. He wants to call her out on it but he can practically feel the exhaustion in her voice and almost feels bad.

Almost. "No, she's alive and well," he concedes, "but we need to talk. She has these bruises-"

"I can't do this now, Derek" she cuts him off with a tired sigh.

"What do you mean you can't do this now? She got hurt on _your_ watch," he hisses, "and you don't have time to talk about it?"

"And how much time did _you_ have to talk when I had concerns?" she snaps, the exhaustion in her voice replaced with fury. "Look, I was up all night with a puking kid, and another one just started, so I really, _really_ don't have time for this. And by the way, they caught the stomach bug from me. I'm not pregnant, and from now on you can refrain from commenting on my reproductive choices in front of my six-year-old."

"Addison-"

"I gotta go," she says as someone starts crying in the background.

"Wait! Addison? Addison!" He growls when he realizes she hung up on him, and takes a few deep breaths before going back inside. He opens the door and finds Emme waiting for him.

"What's wrong?" she asks, her sleep-mussed head cocked to one side.

"Nothing. Everything's fine," he assures her as he studies her little face with a frown. "But what's the matter with you?"

 **And there you have it - the long-awaited start to the family camping trip. Don't worry, there are a lot more adventures in store for our little heroine and her family! And I *might* have something special for the next chapter, which I promise will be up** _ **much**_ **faster than this one! Please please** _ **please**_ **let me know what you think!**

 **No promises, but I'm still working on some holiday one-shots, and also chapter 3 of Lost and Found...I'm hoping to get at least a couple things posted by the weekend, so stay tuned!**


	18. Chapter 18

**Okay guys, I promised you something special, and here it is...a little (5k+ word, no big deal) interlude by the incomparable winter machine. She asked if she could delve into the goings on of the Sloangomeries after Emme's departure...how could I say no to that? I love what she's done here, and I just know you all will, too!**

 **Thank you to all of you who have reviewed chapter 17. I know reviews aren't showing up on the site, but I** _ **am**_ **getting them through email. Please show winter machine some love for her awesome chapter and let us know what you think! I promise I'll be back soon-ish with chapter 19, but the Olympics will be consuming a good bit of my free time for the next couple weeks (go USA!) so don't expect super fast updates...sorry!**

Addison stands on the porch waving until Derek's car is out of sight – just in case Emme turns around.

When she gets inside, Cecilia is still wailing, hands scrunched into fists. "Make Emme come back," she begs.

 **"** Emme will be back before you know it," Addison assures her, lifting her onto her lap. "Hey … look what she left for you."

Cece's eyes widen when she sees the otter. "But Emme needs it!"

 **"** Nope, she wants you to have it while she's on her trip … so you don't miss her too much." Addison kisses the top of Cecilia's head, nestling the otter and the little girl together on her lap.

Cece gives her a watery smile, hugging the stuffed animal, and Addison has to fight back her own tears.

What she's thinking, as she rocks her gradually calming daughter, is that at least Cecilia is still young enough, still trusting enough, to believe Addison can fix everything.

But what about Emme?

..

There's not much time to focus on anything, not with four children at home. Between Addison and the nannies, they manage to keep everyone fed and reasonably happy, but there's not a lot of room for pontificating … or even moping.

That's not to say everything's normal, though. She realizes how jumpy she is when Nora politely inquires after Emme and Addison finds herself immediately on the defensive.

 **"** I'm sorry," she says quickly.

 **"** Oh, never you mind," Erin assures her with a smile, "you're missing her and I understand completely."

No, you don't – but I'm glad you don't.

She hates this feeling – or rather, these feelings, this confusing pile of feelings: shame that things got so out of control last night, guilt for Emme, fear for Mark – and all of them – because she knows they're going to have to deal with this.

And exhaustion. Truthfully, she hasn't been well-rested since Emme made her first squalling appearance six years ago, but the combination of her waning stomach bug, the emotional upheaval of the previous night, and her fitful, troubled sleep feels almost insurmountable.

The guilt only increases when the nannies urge her to take a nap – "go on, then, you won't be any use to the wee ones if you're too knackered to stand," Nora scolds.

She insists on taking Everett with her, at least, and they fall into a restless sleep together. Her last thoughts as she drifts off are of Mark, wondering how he's coping at work.

..

Not well.

His head is swimming, miles away from the hospital. He has to force himself to focus; surgery makes that easier, but in brief moments of downtime Emme's fear-stricken face, her tearful blue eyes, rise to the forefront of his mind.

He slumps against the wall of a call room to try to gather himself, but the swelling guilt prevents it. Over and over, he finds himself reliving the previous night, as if enough retreads would permit him the mercy of changing the way it ended.

When the constant replay of his loss of control fades, it's not for more pleasant images – it's Emme carsick, homesick, heartsick on the journey up the mountains without him or Addison to comfort her.

Not like she wants your comfort.

He fingers his blackberry, tempted to text Addison to find out if she has an update on Emme. But he's paged before he can make the decision.

..

 **"** I'm hungry," Cecilia repeats, tugging on her mother's hand. "Mommy!"

 **"** I heard you, Cece." Addison pushes her sleeves higher. Nora took Cecilia to PT today, and the vigorous work always leaves her daughter hungry and more often than not cranky. "We'll eat as soon as Daddy gets home. Why don't you sit down and you can have an apple to tide you over."

Cecilia makes a face.

 **"** Carrots," Addison compromises, hoisting her daughter into her chair and unceremoniously scooping a handful of baby carrots from a glass container in the fridge.

 **"** Are you sure you don't want us to stay?" Erin asks, looking from the twins, to Annie, to Cece.

 **"** I'm positive," Addison lies. "Mark will be home soon and I have everything under control here … thanks to your help."

 **"** But you're ill."

 **"** Not anymore. I've kept everything down today," Addison reminds her, and ushers both of them out the door – just as Mark walks through it.

 **"** Good timing," she tells him as she passes a crying Everett directly into his arms the moment he crosses the threshold.

 **"** How's Emme?" he asks immediately, jiggling Everett to soothe him.

 **"** Daddy!" Cecilia yells from the kitchen.

 **"** Derek texted to say they got to the cabin," Addison responds, realizing it doesn't answer his question – but then again, Derek wasn't exactly a wealth of information, and she knows it's not fair to pressure him during his vacation with their daughter.

 **"** Oh. Good. How did she do in the car?"

 **"** Daddy!" Cecilia calls again.

 **"** Cece, just wait a minute, sweetheart, and Daddy will come in there," Addison calls.

 **"** Addison? Did she do okay?"

 **"** He didn't say."

 **"** But you gave her the – "

 **"** Yes, Mark, I gave her Dramamine before they left. You and I both know it only goes so far."

 **"** But what if she's – "

 **"** Mark. If anything were seriously wrong, Derek would tell us." She says it with confidence, although after the last couple of weeks she's not quite sure what she can be certain of with respect to Emme's custody.

Mark doesn't look convinced either, but Cecilia's increasing frustrating cries from the kitchen remind them there's not much time to discuss it.

 **"** When is Emme coming back?" Cecilia asks as soon as her parents enter the kitchen.

Mark leans down to kiss the top of her blonde head.

 **"** Emme will be back before you know it," Addison assures Cecilia, wondering if she should just start reciting the phrase at random intervals.

 **"** How come she went away?" Cecilia asks.

 **"** She's on a trip, honey, remember?"

Cece purses her lips, seeming to consider this, then turns to Annie. "Next time you should go on a trip."

 **"** Cece." Addison frowns at her daughter. "That's not nice."

Cecilia doesn't look chastened, but is soon distracted by the noisy process of settling all four children around the table to eat.

Everett sobs when he is reminded that his high chair is not, in fact, either parent's arms – his preferred location. Georgia begins the meal so quiet that he could almost forget she's there, but yelps angrily at breaks in her feeding. And Annie whines, frustrated in the way she always is when she remembers her cast.

 **"** Emme likes chicken," Cecilia sighs when Addison sets food out on the table.

 **"** So do you," Addison reminds her gently, hoping to distract her from missing her sister and focus her on her dinner.

But when she looks up from separating a drumstick from the chicken, she sees Mark and Cecilia have nearly identical mournful expression on their faces.

 **"** Now what?"

 **"** That's Emme's favorite," Cecilia reminds her mother, pointing to the drumstick, and Mark nods.

 **"** You two." Addison shakes her head. "She'll be back soon."

 **"** Let's save it for her!" Cece suggests, brightening.

 **"…** but not soon enough for that. Here," Addison says, passing Cecilia the drumstick. "I think Emme would want you to have this."

Considering how the sisters occasionally bicker over chicken parts, it might be a stretch, but Cece seems to like the idea, and bites vigorously into the drumstick.

 **"** Annie, eat your dinner, sweetheart," Addison reminds her. Their little hurricane is slumped in her high chair, broken leg accommodated by the tray, looking tired. Addison moves the pieces of chicken and vegetables closer to her, and then frowns. "She's hardly touched it."

 **"** Yeah?" Mark glances over.

Addison brushes Annie's cheeks with the back of her hand. "Maybe she's not feeling well."

They exchange a look that says even we can't possibly have the kind of luck that means the kids picked up Addison's stomach bug.

Thankfully, Annie takes a few eventual bites.

Relieved, Addison focuses on feeding the twins in turn, while Mark supervises Cecilia's enthusiastic, if not always successful, attempts at prying chicken from the bone. Everett starts fussing as soon as he's finished, clamoring to be held, and Mark scoops him out and perches him on his lap.

Once forty little fingers have been wiped clean and enough has been put away in the kitchen that Addison is satisfied a bear won't break in to eat the leftovers, the six of them make their way to the living room. Cecilia is gripping her walker, moving across the floor with occasional pauses to cheer herself on the way she did when she was small. Annie is trying in vain to pull herself to standing on the ball of her cast – which is specifically designed to avoid that – yelling her frustration when she can't.

 **"** Daddy's mad at Emme," Cecilia says conversationally as she pauses her loop next to Everett's swing and pats his leg. He beams at her.

 **"** I'm not mad at Emme," Mark responds quickly, and maybe a little defensively, easing Annie back down to the floor.

Addison settles on the floor next to Mark, reaching for Annie, who crawls into her lap. Cece begins another circuit, this time to Georgia's swing, where she grabs her sister's tiny foot, much to the baby's delight.

 **"** How much did she hear?" Mark asks quietly, not meeting her eyes.

 **"** I'd say whatever wasn't muffled by the chair she was hiding behind," Addison tells him, keeping her voice low enough that Cecilia won't hear.

It's a new detail for Mark, and she knows it's one he won't take well. It's not that she isn't sympathetic to his pain – but she's fairly certain hiding the ramifications of his actions isn't going to help anyone.

 **"** She was hiding behind a chair?" Mark asks, his voice thick.

Addison nods, stroking Annie's wispy red hair. "Emme isn't the only one you scared last night, Mark."

He's quiet for a moment. "Hey, sunshine." He gestures to Cecilia. "Come over here."

She makes her way to Mark, and Addison takes Annie over to sit near the twins, bringing a stacking toy with her.

Mark lifts Cece onto his lap once she gets to his side. "I'm not mad at Emme. I'm not mad at anyone. I promise. Okay?"

Cecilia reaches her good hand out to play with the collar of his shirt, smiling up at him. She seems okay – doesn't she?

If she were traumatized, wouldn't he know?

Or maybe he wouldn't. He reminds himself of his flagging status as a decent father.

 **"** But you were really mad," Cece says. "You were loud!"

Helplessly, Mark strokes her blonde curls, tousled from her physical efforts this afternoon. "Everything's okay now," he tells her, hoping it's true.

 **"** Emme cried a lot," Cece continues, scrunching up her little nose. "She cried a lot."

 **"** I know." Mark hangs his head. He thought Emme's fear this morning, Addison's disappointment, was the worst of it, but Cece's calm recitation of the facts is somehow even worse.

 **"** You sorry, Daddy?" Cece peers up at him.

 **"** I am very sorry," he assures her. She's still staring. He tucks a stray lock of hair behind her ears. "And I told Emme that too," he adds gently.

 **"** Yeah." Cece considers this, maybe recalling this morning's tense breakfast. "Emme didn't say I forgive you," she says,

He's well aware of that, but the reminder from his second-oldest makes him feel like he might be the one to cry now.

 **"** Mark?" He looks up to see Addison holding out Everett. "This one needs a change. Do you mind?"

 **"** Of course." He kisses the top of Cece's blonde head and sets her on the ground. As he takes his son in his arms, he sees the expression in Addison's eyes.

She was rescuing him.

Embarrassed at how grateful he is, he hastily retreats upstairs with Everett.

..

 **"** You really think Emme's okay?"

Addison glances up from her spot on the floor, where she's watching from a distance as Cecilia shares her blocks with Annie. "I hope so. Not like Derek is going to call and ask for help," she adds before she can stop herself.

 **"** What do you mean?"

 **"** You know what I mean, Mark. The two of you, with this … rivalry … you've set up. We're not exactly peacefully co-parenting. Anything I tell Derek just sounds like criticism now."

 **"** Maybe he needs a little criticism."

 **"** Don't." She points a finger at him. "You don't get to take apart Derek's parenting right now. Not even," she adds, a little more gently, "if you're doing it because you feel guilty."

Mark joins her on the floor, tipping his head back to lean against the couch. "It's just … she was so upset this morning."

Addison sighs. "She perked up when you left," she tells him, even knowing it will hurt him.

Kid gloves just don't seem appropriate right now. Based on Mark's expression when she glances over, he gets that.

 **"** Look." She rests a hand on his arm. "Emme getting some space is probably a good thing. From you, from this house, maybe even from me."

 **"** But what if she's still upset?"

 **"** Then Derek will deal with it," she tells him quietly.

Mark looks like he's not done with the conversation, but Cecilia's angry shout interrupts them.

 **"** Annie, go away! I don't want to play with you!"

 **"** Cecilia. Why are you yelling at your sister?" Addison asks.

 **"'** Cause she's being bad," Cece says as if it's the most logical thing in the world, grabbing one of the blocks from Annie with her good hand.

 **"** She's not being bad," Addison says automatically, firmly, "and you still need to use your indoor voice and speak nicely to her."

 **"** She was being bad," Cecilia insists, glaring at her sister. Her lips purse. "Like Emme," she says.

Out of the corner of her eyes, Addison sees Mark flinch. He crosses the room to squat down in front of Cecilia, his voice steady.

 **"** Annie's not bad, sunshine. Neither is Emme, and neither are you. You are three of my five best girls. You got that?"

Cecilia nods.

 **"** Okay, then." He kisses her cheek and stands up again. "What?" he asks Addison as he approaches, seeing her expression.

 **"** That's all you're going to say?"

He's silent.

 **"** Look, Mark, the opposite of losing control isn't doing nothing when the kids act up."

He avoids her gaze, and when he finally returns it, he looks embarrassed.

 **"** You spent six years in the happy medium, Mark. You can get back there."

 **"** They seem okay now," he says weakly, pointing toward where Cece has grudgingly allowed her sister to share her blocks again.

 **"** That's not the point," Addison tells him. She studies his face, trying to figure out how to say you need to climb back up on the horse after it throws you, but with a better metaphor.

 **"** I'm just tired," he says, and she decides not to pursue it, even if she knows he's actually skittish. Instead, she just reaches for his hand, letting him pull her to her feet, and they settle next to each other on the couch.

For about three minutes, until Everett starts to cry and Addison retrieves him from his swing. Georgia is content and quiet, Addison pausing to give her a kiss to make up for the squeaky-wheel-gets-the-grease inevitability.

She's patting Everett's little back, walking him slowly back toward the couch, when the unmistakable sound of a slap echoes through the living room.

Whirling around, she sees Annie burst into tears, gripping her uninjured leg with one hand. Next to her, Cecilia is glaring – and looking a little frightened, too. With a sigh, she replaces Everett in his swing – he starts sobbing almost immediately – to lift Annie off the floor.

 **"** What happened, sweetheart?" she coos, rocking her.

 **"** Cece hit her," Mark says, sounding shocked.

 **"** I didn't see," Addison admits.

 **"** I did. She just … hauled off and hit her."

Addison rubs Annie's back, trying to calm her down. "Mark," she says in a low voice when he just continues to sit on the couch with an expression of consternation. "Mark."

He seems to snap back to attention at the second repetition of his name, crossing the room to where Cece is sitting alone among scattered blocks, her lower lip trembling.

 **"** Cecilia." Mark lifts her up, setting her on the couch and then kneeling down in front of it so they're the same height. "Why did you do that?"

Cece shrugs, not looking at him.

 **"** You do not hit your sister. You're bigger than she is."

 **"** You did," Cece says, her blue eyes round. "You're bigger than everyone."

Her words freeze him, his heartbeat is loud in his ears. Shoving his shaking hands into his pockets, he looks toward Addison for guidance but her face is impassive.

She doesn't say this is your mess … but her expression doesn't deny it, either.

Steeling himself, reminding himself that guilt is an indulgence he doesn't deserve right now, he meets his daughter's eyes.

 **"** Hitting is never okay," he tells her firmly. "For anyone. If you do it, you're going to be in trouble."

 **"** Are you in trouble?" Cece asks, gazing up at him.

He takes her little hand in his. "Yeah, I am," he admits.

Cecilia looks fascinated now. "You got a time-out, Daddy?"

 **"** Sort of," he tells her. "Grown-up time-outs are … a little different. I made Emme sad, and Mommy, and maybe you too. And that makes me really sad."

 **"** It was scary," Cece says softly.

 **"** I know." He sits down beside her on the couch, lifting her into his lap, and just holds her close for a moment. "And I'm sorry. I don't ever, ever want to scare you or your sisters or brother or your mom. Not ever. It's not going to happen again."

Cecilia tilts her head. "Daddy … is Emme really on a trip?"

 **"** Of course she is." Mark studies his daughter's face, trying to understand her question. "You know EMme went on a camping trip – remember, she told you all about it, and you helped her pack…"

Helped her pack is a major overstatement, but Cece doesn't contradict him.

 **"** What is it, sweetheart?" He touches her face, encouraging her to look at him.

 **"** Emme didn't leave 'cause she was bad?" she asks finally.

He draws a deep breath. "No," Mark says firmly. "Emme isn't bad, sunshine, I told you."

 **"** Did she leave 'cause you were bad?" Cece asks now.

 **"** No. She left to go on a trip with her … dad, and Riley and Meredith."

 **"** And Sully?" Cece asks, perking up.

 **"** I don't know," Mark admits.

 **"** Daddy, Sully's gotta go with them!" Cecilia insists. "What if he's hungry?"

 **"** He's not hungry, I promise," Mark assures her. "He's either with them, or he has a … dog-sitter. Derek and Meredith wouldn't leave Sully alone."

Cecilia looks relieved, and starts to scoot off Mark's lap. He notices Addison raise an eyebrow; she's cuddling a mostly calm Annie on the other side of the couch.

 **"** Hang on," he says reluctantly, holding onto her. "I … want to talk to you. I know it's been a tough day, and maybe you didn't sleep so great last night – "

 **"** I did sleep great," Cece says, sounding affronted. "I slept in Mommy's bed."

Now Addison looks like she's fighting a smile.

 **"** What I mean is … hitting is not allowed, and you know that, don't you?"

Reluctantly, Cece nods.

 **"** You're a big girl. You know how to use your words. And if Annie does something you don't like, you tell Mommy or we and we'll handle it."

 **"** Okay," Cecilia grumbles, looking unimpressed with her options.

 **"** Good." Mark points toward Annie. "Now, apologize to your sister and then let's go get ready for bed."

 **"** Bed? Before Annie?" Cece's eyes widen.

 **"** Before Annie," Mark confirms. He lifts Cecilia down and moves her gently in Annie's direction.

Cece glances at both her parents for confirmation, then approaches her little sister. "Sorry I hit you, Annie," she says.

Annie gazes at her older sister and smiles broadly.

 **"** She didn't say 'I forgive you,'" Cecilia complains, turning back to Mark.

Mark ruffles her curls. "That's okay, I can tell she definitely forgives you." He scoops Cecilia up, bringing her to Addison for a kiss goodnight, and relieved when his daughter doesn't protest her early bedtime.

The thing is … he agrees with Addison in principle, but he's not sure he's ready for another paternal power struggle, not when he still feels so raw. Thankfully, Cece is cuddly and compliant, falling quickly to sleep only a few pages into one of her favorite books. He watches her doze peacefully for a few moments, trying not to picture her hiding behind a chair, listening to him lose control.

Or slapping her little sister, then looking up at him with her innocent blue eyes when he asked her why:

You did. You're bigger than everyone.

He rests his head in his hands. This time, he doesn't let himself drift back into guilty replays of what he did yesterday.

Instead, he focuses on what he need to do now.

..

 **"** Did she go to sleep?" Addison asks when Mark descends the stairs.

He nods, glancing into the living room to confirm the three children are relatively calm, and then turns and walks away.

 **"** Mark? Where are you going?"

 **"** I just need a minute," he tells her, and she nods uncertainly.

Annie cuddles into her side, looking tired, and Addison strokes her wispy red hair. "Are you getting sleepy?"

Annie shakes her head, but her eyes are drooping. Addison takes advantage – Annie has been difficult to put down since she broke her leg, and if she's going to fall asleep downstairs, that will make bedtime easier.

It doesn't take too long before Annie drifts to sleep on her mother's lap. Carefully, Addison sets her sleeping daughter on the floor, surrounding her with pillows so she's comfortable enough but not at risk of falling off the couch.

Checking on the twins one more time, she ducks out of the living room to find Mark.

He's in his office, bent over the desk, and doesn't seem to hear her approach.

 **"** Mark? What are you doing?"

He turns around in his chair. "Researching therapists."

She just looks at him for a moment, then crosses the room and eases herself down in his lap. "Thank you," she says.

 **"** I should be thanking you," he mutters.

 **"** Well, that too." She squeezes him briefly, then pulls back. "Did you find anyone?"

He nods. "I emailed Chester for a referral – remember him? I said it needs to be someone who can see me this week, and he suggested a few people. I made an appointment for Tuesday."

 **"** I'm proud of you." She kisses him gently. "I know it's not easy."

He nods. "Did you, uh, did you hear anything from Derek?" he asks. His tone sounds like he's not sure if he's hopeful or anxious.

 **"** No. They're on vacation, Mark, I don't expect him to text constantly. He said he'd let Emme call if she asked."

 **"** Does that mean she didn't ask?"

 **"** I don't know," Addison admits. "But if she's having such a good time in the mountains with Riley and all of them, that's a good thing. Wouldn't you rather she didn't miss us? … don't answer that," she adds at Mark's expression. She raises a hand to pat his scratchy cheek. "I love you," she reminds him. "Emme will be home in less than two weeks, and we'll figure all of this out, okay?"

 **"** Okay."

..

It happens so quickly.

One minute they're all back in the living room, the twins lolling on a blanket and Annie drifting in and out of sleep.

And then the next minute …

 **"** Addison," Mark says, looking up from the floor where he's sitting cross-legged between the twins, letting them bicycle-kick his hands, "do you think Annie looks a little – "

Without warning, Annie retches, vomiting down the front of her little shirt and then bursting into tears.

 **"…** green," Mark finishes, as Addison scoops up a distraught Annie.

 **"** I've got this," she says, and heads upstairs.

 **"** Hopefully your big sister just ate something that didn't agree with her," Mark tells the babies; Everett coos in response. "There's no reason to think it's anything that –"

Before he can finish, Everett has rolled to the side, screwing up his face and fisting his little hands as he demonstrates that his stomach isn't exactly in good shape either.

..

Calling the spread of Addison's stomach bug pleasant is a major stretch, and yet he finds himself welcoming the constant work it entails – between the diapers and cleaning up the children and making sure the twins are in a safe position in case they vomit and comforting Annie, whose response to not feeling well usually involves a fair amount of anger and disappointment that she can't be as active as usual.

His hands are busy with cleanup and child care, and it helps, somewhat, to keep his head quiet.

He's busy rocking a wailing Georgia – while Everett, apparently stunned to be left in his infant swing while his sister gets comforted in his stead – sobs along with her. "It's okay, buddy. You're next, I promise," he assures his miserable son, lifting Georgia a little higher and patting her heaving back.

 **"** At least they haven't thrown up yet," Addison says weakly. Mark thinks, as he changes yet another of Georgia's diapers and she shrieks through it, not quite making it until it's sealed, that it's cold comfort.

 **"** It doesn't exactly feel like we're down one kid," Addison points out ruefully as she fits the waterproof protective sack over Annie's cast, preparing to bathe her protesting daughter.

 **"** No, it doesn't," Mark agrees, holding a mercifully sleeping Everett against his chest. Cecilia, awakened by the commotion, is now clinging to one of his legs, apparently not wanting to be left out of the family's constant rounds of cleaning.

But mentioning one kid just makes him think of Emme, guilt rushing through him. Of Cece slapping her sister and all but telling him it's because of what she heard Mark do.

Why did he do it?

Spanking their children was something he never even considered. It simply never entered his consciousness; it wasn't part of their discipline playbook. He and Addison agreed on its ineffectiveness. Though it's no comparison to what he put Emme through, and he recognizes that … he surprised himself too, last night.

He recalls the way she flinched when he tried to brush her hair away from her face this morning, while she clung to Addison and avoided his gaze.

And now she's gone – with Derek – for the next week and a half. He has no way to apologize to her, no way to make it up to her, no way to prove to her that last night was an aberration that will never happen again.

It's a punishment he can acknowledge he deserves … but a difficult one to withstand nonetheless.

There's no time to dwell, though, not when Cecilia is whimpering, protesting going back to her room. Her color looks fine, but sending her out alone when the rest of the family is huddled in the bathroom feels wrong, somehow. They relent and tuck her into the big bed, where she can see the none-too-pleasant activities happening in the connected bathroom and won't feel quite so alone.

Despite insisting she's not tired, Cecilia's eyes flutter closed almost before Mark has drawn the covers up to her little shoulders.

 **"** That's one down," Mark says, returning to the bathroom. Addison is holding Annie in a wolf-headed grey and pink towel. She looks even cuter with lupine ears, if possible, even though she's sniffling and sucking two of her fingers, her head bobbing sleeping on her mother's shoulder.

 **"** No symptoms?" Addison asks, glancing in Cecilia's direction.

 **"** Not so far." Mark lowers himself to the bathroom floor, where the twins are lying on a thickly padded set of towels. Behind them are a stack of clean diapers, wipes, and fresh clothes – it just seems easier to co-locate everything.

Before he can say anything else, Everett groans, his little face red, and demonstrates noisily that his stomach hasn't settled yet. He sobs his way through yet another set of cleaning and diaper changes before he drifts into a sniffly sleep against his father's shirt.

Georgia is mercifully quiet, Annie sleeping fitfully in Addison's arms.

 **"** Are they …" Mark's not sure he wants to finish the sentence, but it seems to be true.

They tuck Annie into the big bed – as far from Cece as possible without either of them falling off, and line the twins' portable cribs with enough towels to prevent disaster.

And then it's quiet.

Mercifully quiet.

 **…** too quiet.

 **"** You miss her," Addison proposes gently when she sees his expression.

 **"** Yeah." He glances over before looking at the floor again. "You think she'll ever talk to me again?"

 **"** I do."

He must not look convinced because she rests a hand on his arm. "Mark … you know how much she loves you. You do," she adds when he starts to protest, "which is why it's so hard for her, and I know how much you love her, and I know that's part of why you overreacted. But ultimately … it's your actions that matter."

He gazes up at her sadly.

 **"** It's not just last night, Mark. You've been tough on her for weeks, taking it personally when she acts out after she spends time at Derek's house. It's fine to have expectations – she needs that – but she also needs consistency. Not you flying off the handle at every little thing."

He hangs his head. "I know."

 **"** I know you do." Addison sighs, then leans her head against him. "I know she's not biologically yours, Mark, but sometimes, I swear, she reminds me of you so much."

 **"** Yeah?"

 **"** Yeah." She tilts her chin up so she can kiss the side of his head. "You're both hard-headed."

 **"** Very funny." He pulls her in tightly. "I'm gonna make this better, Addison. I'll do the work. Whatever we need to do."

..

Between diaper changes and sponge baths and piles of soiled towels and sheets, no one gets much rest. The three afflicted children have finally drifted into fitful sleep when Georgia wakes up retching. Mark grabs her and carries her into the bathroom, Addison reaching out a hand to pat him gratefully.

Miraculously, the other children don't wake. Addison rests her throbbing head against the pillow, reveling in the silence. Maybe she can actually close her eyes now, and –

Her phone vibrates loudly, startling her before she can fall asleep. She has to extract herself carefully from Annie before she grabs it.

Derek.

Now he calls her!

 **"** You'd better not be calling to tell me my kid got eaten by a bear," she grumbles, hearing how exhausted her voice sounds.

Derek pauses and for a moment she's afraid something did happen – or, knowing him, he's just preparing his own sarcastic response.

 **"** No, she's alive and well," he says, sounding like he wants congratulations for not rising to her bait. "But we need to talk."

Addison's heart thumps, anticipating where this is going.

 **"** She has these bruises – "

 **"** I can't do this now, Derek," she sighs. She's barely conscious, and Everett is whimpering in his crib now, awakened by the sound of her voice.

 **"** What do you mean, you can't do this now? She got hurt on your watch, and you don't have time to talk about it?"

She's stung – and then she's angry. "And how much time did you have to talk when I had concerns?" Drawing a deep breath, she tries to calm down, then remembers Emme's remark the night before and gets annoyed again. "Look, I was up all night with a puking kid, and another one just started, so I really, really don't have time for this. And by the way, they caught the stomach bug from me. I'm not pregnant, and from now on you can refrain from commenting on my reproductive choices in front of my six-year-old."

She pauses for breath, and then hears Annie rustling, waking up and whimpering.

 **"** Addison – "

Everett starts wailing then, and she's done. "I gotta go," she tells Derek hastily, hanging up the phone.

She does her best to clean Everett up with one hand while soothing Annie with the other, praying their sobbing crescendo won't wake Cecilia. Mark, who was in the bathroom cleaning Georgia up, hurries back in to help her.

 **"** Everett too?" he asks, wide-eyed.

Addison nods, reaching out a hand to stroke Georgia's shaking back. "That's three."

They both turn toward Cece, miraculously sleeping through the chaos, hoping it won't spread.

 **"** Were you talking to someone before?" Mark asks curiously, rocking Georgia.

Addison focuses on soothing the two children in her arms. "… Derek called," she admits after a moment.

Mark freezes. "Is Emme okay?" he asks immediately.

 **"** Yes. But he called to say … she has these bruises," Addison repeats Derek's words. She's not surprised, not really, and Mark can't be either, but all the color drains from his face.

 **"** What did you say?" he asks, his voice shaking a little.

 **"** I didn't. I punted," Addison admits. "And Everett woke up. But I'm going to have to talk to him sooner or later."

 **"** I'm sorry," Mark whispers, settling Georgia back in her crib and taking Everett from Addison's arms to change him. "Addison, I'm so sorry."

 **"** I know you are," she sighs. "And we'll deal with this together, Mark, okay? But … we still have to deal with it."

 **"** Yeah." He sits down heavily on the side of the bed, lifting a fussing Annie into his arms to soothe her back to sleep. "I know."


	19. Chapter 19

**Okay guys, here's the deal. Remember that one author's note where I admitted I'm not a writer? I wasn't joking. I'm really,** _ **really**_ **sorry for stringing you along for all of DWTNY and 18 chapters of this and then ditchin' y'all, but...I lost my mojo. Not only have I fallen out of my writing groove, but I've been rereading my stuff, trying to get inspired, and honestly...I just hate it. All of it. BUT you guys are the best, especially the few of you who still reach out on occasion to make sure I'm still alive, and** _ **especially**_ **the one who regularly begs/guilt-trips me to write ("I AM SAD BECAUSE YOU WILL NEVER WRITE FOR ME AGAIN") so I am committed to at least finishing this story - no matter how much I despise it - and the sequel I promised, which I have LOTS of ideas for even if I have no will to actually write. Despite my difficulties I really did intend to update this sooner, but *someone* planted an idea in my head and I've been going crazy trying to figure out how to work it in. Still haven't, and likely won't, but whatever. It was a good idea and I'll hang on to it for a future fic.**

" _Nothing. Everything's fine," he assures her as he studies her little face with a frown. "But what's the matter with you?"_

He can't quite tell if she's angry or sad, but in any case, she doesn't look amused. "Why were you yellin' at my mommy?" she demands to know as she plants her fists on her hips.

He has to think fast to get out of this one. "I...I wasn't yelling at your mommy-"

"You _said_ Addison! That's mommy's name." Now she crosses her arms and raises an eyebrow, as if daring him to contradict her.

"Oh, that...I...um...that was one of the interns, from the hospital. His last name is _Madison_ ," he lies, hoping she'll buy it.

She squints at him, trying to decide if he's being honest. "For real?" He nods enthusiastically, and she seems to accept it. "Well, how come you're mad at him?"

"Because I told him not to call me while I'm on vacation, and he did anyways. And it's way too early to be calling anyone anyway. What are you doing up so early?"

"The mosquitos got me! It's so itchy!" she whines, holding out one arm to show him a half dozen red welts.

"Well, I guess it's a good thing you didn't sleep outside, huh? Imagine how many mosquito bites you would have gotten then!" he says as he puts a hand on her back and steers her towards the bathroom. "Lucky for you, I have something that can help." He pulls a bottle of calamine lotion out of the first aid kit and dabs it on the bites with a cotton ball.

"Can I call Cece?" she asks once he's done.

"Didn't I just say it's too early to call anyone?"

"Well, yeah, but I told Cece I'd call her _every day_ , and I didn't call last night! Maybe she's sad! What if she's _crying_?"

She looks so distraught at the thought that he almost gives in, but his ex-wife had been in a bad enough mood when he called the first time. And as much as he doesn't want to sympathize, having one vomiting child is hard enough, but... _three_? Phone calls can wait. "Em, I'm sure Cece's still sleeping right now. We'll call later."

…..

Later, Addison doesn't even have time to wonder about her oldest child. After a very long night with three sick children, and a very, _very_ long day with three sick children plus a whiny, clingy Cecilia clamoring for attention, she finds herself dozing off - standing up, no less - during the first moment of silence she's had in almost twenty-four hours. For once all three babies are sleeping at the same time, and Cecilia is out with Mark for a quick dinner and a grocery store run for diapers and cleaning supplies. She's tackling the mountain of laundry that has amassed; she wouldn't have minded putting it off, but after stripping the bed for the fourth time they're out of clean sheets, and the kids have blown through practically every onesie and pair of pajamas they own. And so she shakes off the urge to take a break and stuffs another load in the washer.

"Did Emme call?" Cecilia asks as soon as she gets home, her voice fraught with concern.

"No, not yet."

"Why didn't she call? Is she mad at me?" She sniffles and hugs the otter that hasn't left her side since Emme left. "Maybe Riley's her best friend now."

"Oh, Cece." She scoops up the little girl and holds her tightly. "She's not mad, baby. Her dad's phone might not work out there. But maybe she'll call tomorrow."

…..

Later, after breakfast is eaten and the dog walked, Derek and Meredith load the kids into the car and head to a nearby lake where they take turns lounging in the shade with Brendan and splashing in the cool water with Emme and Riley. Aside from a brief temper tantrum from Riley protesting nap time - quickly ended when Emme offers to lie down on the oversize beach blanket with her - it's a relaxing, fun-filled day, and the last thing on his mind is calling Addison. Emme forgets, too, until she's brushing her teeth after a late dinner of macaroni and cheese.

"We'll call tomorrow," he promises, as he tucks her in next to her already-slumbering sister.

…..

When tomorrow comes she thinks things might be looking up after they spend more time asleep than awake overnight - not much more, but she'll take what she can get. But that goes to shit - literally _and_ figuratively - when a certain small redhead wakes from a dead sleep and, without warning, defiles everything in the bed, not excluding a certain otter who finds himself in the wrong place at the wrong time.

"We talked about this the other night. You can't hit your sister," Addison scolds wearily as she begins the task of stripping the bed yet again while Mark hauls Annie off for yet another bath.

Cecilia gazes mournfully at the soiled stuffed animal. "But she ruined him! And now Emme will be _so_ mad!"

"We can wash him, Cece. Emme will never know."

"She will know! I'll tell her if she ever calls me, and she'll never like Annie again."

"Cece…" At this point she doesn't even know what to say anymore - and Emme's only been gone two days. "No more hitting," she orders firmly before lugging the full hamper - otter included - downstairs.

…..

By tomorrow morning promises are forgotten, replaced by a flurry of activity as a picnic lunch is packed and hiking boots are tied up tight. After a hearty breakfast the entire family - Sully included - heads out for a hike. With Derek pushing the all-terrain stroller and lugging the backpack with their lunch and other necessities while Meredith wears Brendan in his carrier and helps Riley along when she decides she wants out of the stroller, Emme's left to navigate the trail on her own. It's definitely a more challenging trail than the one at home where she's become accustomed to walking Sully with her father, but despite a few rough spots, and a skinned knee from slipping on a loose stone, she doesn't complain once about being hot, tired, or dirty - or the _only a little ugly_ hiking boots she'd been less than thrilled about when they had bought them.

It's five o'clock when they get back to the cabin, and Emme is still chatting animatedly about the things they'd seen on their hike while getting cleaned up when she remembers her sister. "Dad, I forgot to call Cece this morning! I better call her now."

"I bet Meredith has dinner just about ready, and Cece's probably eating now too," he points out as he lifts Riley out of the tub and towels her off. "We'll call right after dinner."

She tugs her pajama top over her head and trots to the table, eager to eat so she can call Cecilia and tell her all about her adventures. Once seated, however, the physical exertion catches up to her, and Derek and Meredith fight back laughter as her head bobs between bites of tomato soup, grilled cheese, and indignant declarations that she's not tired; she's still gripping her spoon in one hand and the last quarter of her sandwich in the other when she gives up the fight and rests her head on the table.

"I didn't call Cece," she mumbles as he tucks her in.

He kisses her forehead and makes sure she has her stuffed animals. "It's okay. We'll call in the morning," he assures her, through she's already drifting back,to sleep.

…..

It's still mostly dark when Derek wakes up on Monday morning. He opens his eyes and sees Emme staring at him with worried eyes. "Em, what's wrong?" he whispers, trying not to wake Meredith or Brendan.

"I _gotta_ call Cece!" she whispers back urgently. "You said I could call her last night but I didn't, and it's been forever since I've seen her and she's probably _so sad_."

"Emme, it's...not even five-thirty. I'm sure Cece's still sleeping, so go back to bed and we'll call her after breakfast, okay?"

"But I'm not tired," she complains, and he realizes that after falling asleep around six o'clock she's had a solid eleven hours of sleep; of course she's not tired.

Accepting the fact that he's now up for the day, he slips carefully out of bed and they pad to the kitchen side-by-side. By the time they've eaten a breakfast of cereal and bananas, gotten dressed, and taken Sully out for a walk Riley is awake, followed in quick succession by Brendan and Meredith. Between the added commotion and the distraction of a second, more appealing breakfast - pancakes and bacon - Cecilia is briefly forgotten yet again, but by the time everything is cleaned up, Emme remembers. This time he has no excuse, so he dials Addison's number and hands the phone to Emme.

…..

"Oh, thank God." She breathes a sigh of relief when she hears one of the nannies - the other having been struck down by the stomach bug - let herself in. It's only eight o'clock and Annie's already in rare form, protesting the meager breakfast she was offered - a small bowl of oatmeal, a few bites of banana and a sippy cup of a grape-flavored electrolyte-replacement drink.

"Oh, love, such a sad story," Erin croons sympathetically as she drops a kiss on the sobbing toddler's head. "What's the matter?"

"She's hungry, but that's the first she's eaten since Friday. I don't want to give her too much too soon and have her get sick again," Addison explains as she wipes Annie's face and lifts her from the high chair. "As long as it stays down she can have more in an hour or so, but I'm more concerned about getting her hydrated so keep pushing the fluids. Now, if you don't mind feeding these two," she nods towards the twins, who hadn't been hit quite as hard as their big sister, happily guzzling bottles while they wait for breakfast, "I need to finish getting ready. Cecilia already ate, so don't worry about her." She plops Annie on the floor across from Cecilia, who's playing with brightly-colored plastic magnetic tiles in the living room, though still in view from the kitchen.

"Play with your sister for a bit while I get ready,"

Cecilia pulls the mound of tiles closer to herself - and away from Annie, who manages to snag one before they're out of reach only to have it snatched away.

"Cece…"

"They're Emme's. She can't play with them."

"But you're playing with them." She tries not to sound as exasperated as she feels as she hands Annie a few of the tiles.

Cecilia rolls her eyes. "Emme likes me best. She said I could."

"Emme likes everyone,"

"But _I'm_ her _best friend._ "

"Well, pretend Annie's your best friend for," she glances at the clock, "twenty minutes, and you can get a treat after therapy."

Erin is getting the twins cleaned up when she comes back down. She's kissing Everett goodbye when she hears Annie yelp. By the time she gets to the living room Cecilia is howling - and Annie has a fistful of blonde curls. Before she can separate the two, Cecilia swipes at her sister's face, leaving a few faint scratches on one cheek. Addison quickly untangles Cecilia's hair from Annie's pudgy fist and sits the older girl on the couch.

"Cece, what did you do to her?"

"She was pullin' my hair!"

"Before that. What did you do to her?"

"I didn't do nothin'! She took my otter."

"It's Emme's otter."

"It's mine til she comes home."

"Cecilia, what did you do to her?"

"Nothin'!" she insists, though she fidgets and refuses to meet her mother's gaze.

Addison sighs. Annie's not visibly injured, or even upset, but she just knows Cecilia started their little spat. If nothing else, Annie hasn't moved from the spot Addison had left her in - Cecilia had moved over, invading her personal space, which is reason enough to be suspicious. She's about to give up when she notices a red spot on the toddler's thigh; upon closer inspection she discovers several small, crescent-shaped indentations in the rosy flesh as well.

"Cece, you pinched her!"

"You said no _hitting_. I didn't hit her! But she took my otter!" the little instigator repeats.

"That's not an excuse to hurt her! Now you can sit in time out."

"But we have to go to therapy," Cecilia points out eagerly. "Don't want to be late!"

"We have time," Addison informs her, "so move your butt."

Cecilia's barely seated on the time-out stool in the corner when Addison's phone rings. "Of course he calls now," she grumbles under her breath before answering in a barely-civilized tone. "Hello?"

There's a brief pause. " _Mommy?"_

"Oh, hey, lovebug! Hi! How are you? Are you having fun?"

"It's Emme! I wanna talk!" Cecilia chirps as she struggles to her feet.

"After your time out. Sit down!"

"I wanna talk to Emme!"

" _Why's she in time out?_ " Emme asks, sounding concerned.

"Emme, I miss you," Cecilia howls.

"She hurt Annie," Addison answers above the noise.

" _Well, what did Annie do?"_

"Annie didn't do anything-"

"Emme, she took your otter!" Cecilia yells. "I wanna talk to Emme!"

" _Mom, let me talk to her!"_

Despite her desire to make Cecilia finish her time out, the ruckus is chipping away at what's left of her sanity after the disastrous weekend so she hands the phone to her second-oldest daughter.

"Emme? Emme, I miss you so much!" Cecilia bluffs out tearfully as soon as she has the phone. "Yeah, she took the otter! You gave it to _me_ , and she took it but mommy doesn't even care!...She didn't say no pinching...I hate Annie...Yeah...yeah...uh huh…Okay...Really? _Five_? That's so cool!...Fishing? That's yucky!...Oh, I wanna go swimming in the lake! Is Sully going swimming too?"

Addison chuckles in spite of herself as Cecilia goes from indignant to excited about Emme's camping adventures, and allows the conversation to carry on for about five minutes before interrupting. "Okay, Cece, we gotta get going. Say goodbye."

After a minute of tearful goodbyes Addison takes the phone and sets Cecilia's walker in front of her. "So, you're having fun?" she asks as they head for the door.

" _Does daddy know what Cece did?"_

"No, he's at work, why?"

" _Don't tell him."_

"Emme-"

" _Don't get her in trouble! If he gets mad at her, I'm never talking to you again!"_ Emme threatens, her voice quivering. " _Please don't tell him."_

"Okay, I won't."

" _Promise?"_

She sighs. "Yes, Em, I promise. I gotta get Cece to therapy now, okay? I'll talk to you later. I love you."

" _Love you, too. Bye."_

…..

He can tell Emme's upset as soon as she emerges from the bedroom and hands him his phone. "What's the matter, kiddo?"

"Annie got Cece in trouble!"

"Oh really? And what did Cece do?"

"Annie started it! She took my otter away from Cece."

"Okay, but what did Cece do to Annie?"

"Nothing! She only pinched her a little bit!" The words are coming faster, her voice is getting louder, and she's tugging nervously at the hem of her tank top. "Annie started it, but mommy made Cece go in time out."

"Em, it's just a time out! Why are you so upset?"

" _Because_ , I don't want Cece to get in trouble!"

"She got a time out. I'm sure she's fine."

"Yeah, but daddy doesn't know yet. He might get mad!"

"Do you think your daddy would hurt her if he knew?"

"I hate Annie. She's so bad."

"Em, she's a baby-"

"She's not a baby. She's as big as Riley."

"But she's still younger than Riley."

"She's bad. She gets _everyone_ in trouble, and I hate her."

"Em, Cece was being naughty."

"She's not! Cece's good. She's the best one. Annie's always bad. She gets everyone in trouble!"

"Em, did your daddy get mad at you for something that happened with Annie?"

She opens her mouth and looks like she's considering spilling the beans, then shuts it and seems to be choosing her words wisely. Finally she speaks up.

"Are we going to the lake now?"

 **Okay, that's it. I did want to give you a nice long, fluffy update, but...this happened. I don't love it, but I think at this point posting anything at all is better than posting nothing. There are probably some typos and whatnot, but I'm just so ready to be done with it I don't even care. Maybe with this hurdle out of the way the rest will come easier.**

 **As always, reviews are life.** _ **Life**_ **. Was it worth the wait? A total letdown? Not quite what you were expecting? Let me know! And cast your vote for which WIP I should update next (please no LAAB ch 20...I PROMISE not to make you wait *ahem* 14 months for the next chapter, but it definitely won't get done this week. I would, however, like to tackle Lost and Found, Rewriting History, or Chances in the near future, so gimme your pick!)**


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